A Matter of Time
by ladyamalphia
Summary: Time is precious. Time can be savored, memories revisited, but it is something that you can never truly get back. And time is something, Sonic was due to learn, not to be taken for granted. Collab with the gorgeous Midnight Lullabye!
1. Chapter 1

**LA's ****A/N: **Hello, sunshines! Welcome to our homely little collab. If you'd like to meet Midnight Lullabye, scroll down to the end of the chapter for her Author's Note :D. Isn't she just charming?

Okay! Down to business. First thing's first: it's time for an anatomy lesson. Keep your pants on, boys, not that kind of anatomy. _Literary _anatomy :). HOT. Okay. So here's how thing's are going to roll: this is a collab, but we've mostly just taken turns writing until about chapter five, when we start to share C:. For anyone who knows me from previous stories or whatnot, you will be shocked to hear that we've actually got everything up to chapter five finished. Coming from me – who has to upload a piece of writing the MOMENT it finish it – it's a big step :D.

So anyways, I wrote this chapter all by my lonesome.

Here's how review replies are going to work. Both of us are adamant about replying to reviews… so if you review, you're sure to get a DELIGHTFUL reply :). Hint-hint. The problem is that MiLls and I have a five hour time zone difference between, which, as you could imagine, makes things difficult at times XD. I say "good morning!" and she's like… "Shut up, it's supper time."… but she wouldn't actually say it like that :). We're buds. We've decided that we're each going to write a reply to every review, but that means that we need to communicate… which is trouble sometimes. So if your review reply doesn't come right away, don't fret – it's on its way :).

OH! Also, I feel that I'm obliged to warn you, there's one spot in this chapter that is the most typical, overused scenario in existence, but it was necessary for our plot XD. You're going to be tempted to just exit then and there, but please don't :P. I promise it'll be explained… I mean, I HATE Shadow! Why on earth would I-

Yeah. Just read :).

Well! Thanks for checking us out… reviews fuel my LIFE, so they're good :).

Cheers!

--LA

P.S: Oh, sorry to anyone who had me on author alert, and ended up with two email alerts. I found a big mistake, and thought I'd be better off to just re-submit the story XD. Hope it wasn't too big of an inconvenience!

* * *

We don't own any of the delightful characters in our story, and SEGA owns SEGA :).

* * *

A red rose is a beautiful thing to look at.

At first glance, the long, slender stem appears smooth and pale green. But upon closer inspection, one realizes that it is not. Instead, the stalk is covered with minuscule hairs, each capped with watery pink. The stem stretches into a cup, and then into thin, delicate leaves, powdered with pallid fur and laced with crisp, green veins.

The petals are breathtaking. God himself must have slit his wrist to capture the perfect blood crimson gracefully flaunted in rose petals. They too have veins, though theirs are more subtle, and all flow straight to the wavy tips, causing a casual grain. Where light fails to land on the petals, intense, beautifully dark maroon shadows linger.

The petals dive and fold amongst each other, making a maze of swirls and wrinkles through which navigation would be futile.

Sonic sighed, investigating the single rose clutched in his right hand as he took uncharacteristically slow, deliberate steps. To be quite honest, as he made his way through the cool night air, he felt as though he was trapped somewhere inside of a giant black rose's fathomless labyrinth of petals.

The slate-gray sky hung above his head like the umbrella he wished he had. But he was without any shelter from the horizontal downpour harassing him and the delicate blossom.

So he picked up speed, jogging along the glimmering sidewalk, and leaving a sparkling wake in his path.

His green eyes scanned the twilight, unable to get a proper view of anything, the rain's powers of distortion working their wonders; he could barely see a meter in front of his face. He cursed the precipitation, wishing for the wonderful weather they'd been receiving over the past few days.

"April showers bring May flowers..." Amy, always the stubborn optimist, had said earlier that day. Sonic smiled fondly. She had such a wonderful way of doing that, cheering him up no matter the circumstances. And with the showers they were getting that day, they could expect some of the best May flowers in ages.

But now that his thoughts were on her, he couldn't seem to get them off.

She was obsessed, possessive, and often childish, but Sonic couldn't deny it any longer... he'd grown past that, to be extremely fond of the Amy underneath all juvenility. She was lovable and loyal, and much less of a damsel in distress than she seemed to be.

And the rose was for her, though he had yet to decide just how to deliver it. He was never good with feelings... they were one of the only things that could actually unnerve him. He didn't understand why things needed to be so complicated; could he not just give the thing to her and say how he felt?

But he already knew the answer to that... not a chance.

No, females were too complicated. They thought too highly of themselves to just accept a gift and a confession. Mind games, and triangles, and drama all needed to factor in if it was to be considered a successful courtship.

Sonic sighed when he reached her house, feeling horribly like the whole situation was too planned. He hated things that were scheduled and perfectly organized... it took the fun and surprise out of everything. He would much prefer to improvise and go with the flow.

Sonic didn't particularly like Amy's style of home décor. In his opinion, it was quite an overkill on the frilly pink. However, her home was cozy and always warm, scented with delicious baked goods and sweets.

But he didn't have the smell in mind as he knocked on the door.

"Amy?" He called, tapping lightly on the door with his free hand. He paused a moment, wondering if she might already be in bed. It was fairly late in the evening, after all. "You there?"

When there was no answer, he opened the door softly, sliding inside. He didn't worry about intruding; if anything, Amy would be delighted to wake up and find him in her living room.

"Amy?" he repeated in a stage whisper, glancing around the entrance way.

It wasn't until then that he began to feel anxious. How was he supposed to explain himself, anyways?

"Hey, Ames... I was just in the neighborhood..." ...in the middle of a gale force wind rainstorm. Smooth.

He blinked, suddenly disgusted with himself. Sonic the Hedgehog… _the _Sonic the Hedgehog… rehearsing lines for a girl everyone knew was head-over-heels for him. He felt like a bad character from a B-list teenage movie. And yet, despite the disapproval, his mind set frantically back to work, trying to plan the most charming, witty greeting it could.

But once he thought about it a moment, he calmed down. This was Amy, after all. She was crazy about him, stuttering idiot or not. And the fact that he wasn't exactly unfortunate-looking didn't exactly hurt his chances, he thought, grinning at the mirror. Feeling more confident, he stepped into the living room and peered around.

He furrowed his brow, noticing a pink ear poking over the back of the couch.

"Amy?"

That was unusual... she'd be crazy to sleep on the couch when her plush bed was available.

Sonic smiled, thinking that she probably hadn't been able to climb over all those throw pillows. Grin still on his face, he tiptoed over, and leaned over the couch.

He jumped back just as quickly.

Shadow? Both were fast asleep on the cushions, Amy resting her head on his waist.

For a moment Sonic's mind was clogged with a dozen emotions, and he was unsure on which to act first.

Anger won the race. He threw the rose down onto Amy's lap, and turned on his heel to leave.

He picked up speed, zooming faster and faster down the street until he could see nothing of his surroundings but dark blurs. The pouring rain stung like bullets as he sprinted against the wind.

Eyes closed, he had no idea where he was running, but it was like therapy. Running let him empty his emotional tank, holding the plug so that his fury could flow out. If he stopped moving, he felt certain that that plug would close, and, without anywhere to empty his feelings, he might implode.

So he continued to speed forward, suddenly feeling the springy softness of grass beneath his feet.

As he reached top speed, a sonic boom echoed behind him, but he was moving too quickly to hear it. His ears felt muffled and mute, and he couldn't hear his own lightning-fast footfalls.

Faster. He pushed his limit, every mile-per-hour making a larger hole in that emotional storage tank. Finally, he'd drained all his anger, and was running solely for sadness and jealousy.

Suddenly, the winds changed. No longer did he have to fight them; they helped push him forward.

And then things were different suddenly. Nothing like anything he'd ever experienced while running. He opened his eyes a sliver. Everything was blindingly bleach white, and yet he felt blind... as if someone was holding a blindfold over his eyes.

It took him a moment to feel the effect of moving at such a high speed. His legs soon began to burn with fatigue, and he felt out of breath.

He was unable to keep up the speed, and his legs were like lead.

Letting his exhaustion take over, he shut his eyes again, and slowed to a gradual halt. When he finally stopped, he was too drained to stay on his feet.

But when he collapsed, it wasn't the pleasant spring of fresh grass that met his worn-out body, but hard stone. And the rain seemed to have been replaced with sweltering heat.

He, however, was too exhausted to pay the environmental changes any heed, and let himself slip into a bittersweet sleep.

* * *

**MilLy's A/N: **Hey Guys! Midnight Lullabye here, or MiLly, if you go by what LA calls me! :)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, but there is a lot more come, I mean a lot! We're only just getting started baby! ;) But I just want you guys to know, LA works like a trooper, and she's an amazing writer. I'm trying my best to keep up, but she's really talented! :) So, I think, that for her, she deserves some reviews, from you guys! :D So...Review like crazy! And we'll update soon, thanks for reading the chapter guys. :]

--LA

M,.*'Lullabye


	2. Chapter 2

**MiLly's A/N: **Heeyy guys! =D Midnight Lullabye here . :)

So yes,, thanks for everyone who reviwed last chapter,, we really appreciate it. :) I mean me and LA would like grin like maniacs or jump with joy when a review arrived! We were like two lil school girls giggling away. ;]

But yeah,, we like really tried to take on your advice, and I just hope this chapter is okay for you guys. I really mean that,, cause I wrote this one! Well, LA did modify it, cause I'm still the student author. ;) But yeah,, I did try on this, so I hope it's all okay for you guys.

A lil bit off topic here,, but is anyone else obsessed with Sonic songs? I mean,, I'm there dancing round the room singing my tripes off,, and I feel like I'm being weird or something,, cause I love em! ;) I really am a Sonic freak,, like,, I know all the characters ages and heights...off by heart....

...Yes I'm sad in that way,, but I can't help it! I love them all,, even Shadow,, who LA hates. ;) I mean like,, I think he's totally awesome,, and she won't have it! ;) But my favourite is obviously Knuckles by a mile. He's just,, I dunno,, he's got something about him that makes me obsessed! =D Anyone agree?

Enough off me ranting, here's the chappie you ordered! Enjoy!

M,.*'Lullabye

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to both of our hero, Michael Jackson! WE LOVE YOU, MJ! GET HEALTHY AGAIN!

* * *

Angel Island is always unique.

Instead of the hot, almost fog-like air that seemed to hang over the usual jungle, the isle had a crisp, cool, constant breeze, which could melt anyone's troubles away. Instead of the miss-matched plants which would clutter up the entirety of a regular forest, vines snaked their way up trees, with violets and lilies blooming, creating a scene so surreal you could paint a picture, their perfume rising to welcome any visitors. And rather than overgrown, olive coloured weeds, chartreuse blades grew creating a soft carpet of velvet against a person's flesh.

Sonic's lids parted dimly, though his mind had yet to make a full recovery. All he could bring himself to be aware of was the gentle sound of the wind in the trees. But something seemed unusual. Feeling the warmth of the day sink into his skin was pleasant, but it just didn't match up with the dark sky above him. Though he had no idea how far he'd run, it couldn't have been far enough to see any extreme environmental changes. Nights simply weren't this warm.

And so, with the abnormal weather on his mind, he managed to push himself into a sitting position.

Mostly because of his still-drowsy mind, it took him several moments of staring around dumbly to compute why the horizon was beautiful sapphire, while the sky above him was a canopy of darkness.

Angel Island.

He was under the island. The hedgehog unsteadily rose to his feet, aware of a squeezing ache holding onto his legs. It must have been from his anomalous running the previous night, because he'd never before experienced pain from exercise. He was in disbelief at how hard it was to so much as lift each leg to take a step. So, he plopped back onto the ground dully, too tired to put much effort into anything.

But for some reason, the earth beneath him was rough, and hard as stone. That was strange… he'd remembered grass.

"Yo!" He bellowed suddenly, half-hoping that Knuckles might hear him.

In some ways, the Azure male had actually envied the echidna, and had dreamed of living up on the secluded island. In some ways, it would be paradise. However, when he really thought about it, it seemed more like torture. On the isle, he could discover hidden personal talents which he could never, ever explore on land. He would have all the time in the world to let his dreams and imagination reach new heights.

But then there were the let downs.

However much he loved to sleep under the stars, having only a forest canopy as one's shelter when a monsoon hit could possibly prove unpleasant. Having only himself for company could easily drive the mind off the road of sanity. And then there was the burden of being trapped. Spending his life babysitting a rock didn't exactly seem like heaven… and he knew that the inability to leave would only make him stir-crazy after five minutes. Even though the island hid innumerable wonders that could take a lifetime to explore, Sonic knew that the very mentality of being suck in one place would bother him.

But the Echidna never seemed to show any signs of enjoyment, or disappointment at living on the island. Sure, he'd smile and frown… and, of course, explode with infamous rage… but that was about the extent of his emotions. Sonic wondered if he'd ever laughed so hard his ribs hurt… if he'd cried until his mask-like features became blotchy and stained. It was hard to imagine Knuckles doing either of those things… especially crying.

Sonic exhaled dully. Ignoring the shrieks of protest radiating from his thighs, he pushed himself back up to his feet. He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out a way to get up see Knuckles. Perhaps the echidna could explain the strange changes.

Descending from above him, he noticed a silver ladder. Sonic frowned in confusion, but shrugged and decided that it would work to get him up, and thereby didn't require a second thought. He hobbled over and began to climb. Though his progress was painfully slow due to his impairment, he finally reached the top and clambered onto mossy ground. Cocking his head slightly, he stared at the forest.

It looked… different somehow. The most noticeable thing was the trees. They were larger and more mature, their bark sporting brilliant green moss. But that wasn't all. Though Sonic could still sense the minute presence of the Master Emerald, it had some sort of subtle newness to it.

Enjoying the midday warmth, Sonic made his way into the thick of the jungle in pursuit of the emerald shrine.

Suddenly, he lost his footing and slipped on a patch of loose moss. Grinning, he caught himself mid-fall, and pulled off a brilliant twisting save. He landed with his fingers poised as guns, then rolled and ducked, playing out an imaginary gunfight. He honestly thought that his firearm talents had improved greatly, and took pleasure in acting out heroic situations.

… that, or he'd been spending a little too much time watching bad-ass gangster movies.

Sonic quickly reminded himself of the task at hand. Putting away his imaginary weapons, he concentrated on the route ahead (this time making sure to watch where he put his feet). Hopefully, the small but noticeable changes in chaos energy as he moved closer would lead him to Knuckles. Sonic hoped that the echidna could tell him where in the galaxy Angel Island was floating over.

Though the entire place looked like nothing he had ever seen before, as soon as he started to run - albeit slower than usual and with a slight limp - he found himself completely in his element. Everything there seemed familiar to him, yet disorientated somehow. As if he'd been clomped over the head and hadn't recovered properly.

He stopped suddenly, noticing a concealed clearing beyond a thin group of bushed. As Sonic pushed away the opposing brush, the sight before him made him gasp out loud.

About a dozen solemn stone graves stretch over the grassy hill. What should have been a calm and relaxing sight was flawed and ruined. The never ending Mausoleum seemed to chase away the warm sun. The rays of light that spilled upon the dark place of rest felt cool and foreboding. It was so dull, too dull. For before, Angel Island seemed like a forest of the rainbow, able to bring a spring-like feeling to even the darkest of places.

But not here, in this dark grove. No, not even the whole island could inject a feel of comfort.

But what would a graveyard be doing here? Why would so many people be buried in such a remote location? And, more importantly, _who _could be buried? Knuckles' ancestors? That had to be it, but how come Knuckles never told him about it? … stupid question.

But even despite the echidna's secrecy, how come Sonic had never come across it before, even after innumerable escapades around the area?

His train of questions was interrupted when he saw the shaded silhouette of a lone figure standing solemnly before the farthest grave. They seemed to be looking down at the stone below them, muttering inaudible words.

"Knuckles?" Sonic muttered, brow contracted. At first, he was about to go and ask the echidna what the hell was going on, but upon a closer view, Sonic realized that the figure was not the echidna. Instead, the figure looked quite like Sonic himself…

The hedgehog let a growl emerge from his throat. What was _he_ doing here? Of all places, he had the nerve to steal away _Sonic's _girl, and then to come to the only place the sapphire mobian could escape too? Well, he certainly wasn't about to let that happen. Not anymore would the so-called 'Ultimate' have the last laugh. Sonic began dragging his feat up the hill. His breaths became pants. Not from fatigue or the ever-present pain in his legs, but from the anger that boiled beneath his skin.

He moved his legs into strides and started stumbling up the hill in a makeshift jogging motion.

Sure, he could get up there in a second, but he felt that he needed to move in slowly… to see the reaction of his prey before he struck.

He looked intoxicated, and any right minded person would know to stay away from him. If Shadow had seen him, he didn't let on.

The dark hedgehog turned around and began walking down the hill, slowly disappearing from Sonic's view.

"You aren't getting away that easily." Sonic muttered darkly.

He broke into a huge burst of speed, but it wasn't graceful like usually. His legs seemed to turn themselves inwards, and this time he did fall flat on his face, too furious to pull another amazing gunfight save. He rolled to a stop before the stone Shadow had been inspecting. He pounded the ground in frustration. Just as he was about to regain his posture, the sight before him made him freeze.

As he gawked, the shock he felt was so great that it clenched a numb hold on all of his senses. First instinct told him he'd misread… that it was a typo… anything…

But after frantically rereading several times over, he couldn't even muster a gasp. He could only gape, not fully believing what was engraved upon the simple but beautiful grave. All fury which had burnt his soul moments before had cooled and was quickly wiped away to be replaced by confusion and disbelief.

He stared. Just stared at what was in front of him. He shook his head, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Edging closer towards the grave, he read it close up, as if the horror in his voice could induce sympathy enough for the words to reconsider and change themselves.

_Cream The Rabbit_

This wasn't right.

It was a nightmare… a sick and twisted nightmare. Not little Cream. She couldn't be...she just couldn't. Even with his heart aching sickly, Sonic forced himself to read on.

_Sweet-natured,_

_Polite,_

_Never says things of spite,_

_That's how we remember,_

_The angel that was Cream._

Just when Sonic thought he'd taken all the shock he could hold, the next words made his head do a triple back flip complete with an awkward landing. He let the tips of his fingers lightly brush the inscription.

Things were almost making sense… and yet getting more confusing at the same time.

"It...."

Maybe speaking out loud would make things seem more reasonable. He really doubted it would.

"It's not....."

He kept fumbling his words, mouth dry as if someone had plunged a hair-dryer down his throat.

"Right...."

But it was right… the proof was right in front of him.

_Born December 19th 2002_

"I've...."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to speak, but afraid that he'd be correct. But still he talked to himself, trying to prove a meaningless point that he was already painfully aware of.

"I've gone...."

His words were broken whispers, nothing more.

_Died April 25th 2091_

"To the future?"

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**LA's A/N: **Awee, isn't that little poem of MiLl's adorable x)? I can remember when I first read it, I was like… AWWEE, SHAKESPEAR! Heehe, I'm so fond of her :).

Ahh… this chapter was more of a team effort for us :). I think I was actually supposed to write it, but then there was a misunderstanding, and MiLls did, so we just… collaborated! WOTWOT! She wrote the bulk of it, I just went through with some preening sheers and stuck in the odd bell or whistle.

Ohhboy, I do hope I get to kill Shads at some point in this story. You know Sonic's _blind rageee_, well it's fueled by me (:. … not really, though x). I'm not really capable of that degree of emotion. I'm more like… I'M ANGR- ooh, what a nice hat that man is wearing :D.

Hmm… so, my quest to find Sonic Unleashed goes on fruitless. I got this ps3 for Christmas that I don't really care for… and now I can't find anything to playy :P. I've watched the first couple cutscenes, and I'm trying to stop myself :P! I'm at the part with Tails right now, and it's just so cute… I dunno how I'll be able to turn away. I lovee himm :). I hope Knux is a big character too :D. Haahh, MiLly and I are his biggest fans :)… we've got him tattooed on both of our chests.

So far, I've deduced two things:

- this Chip creature irritates me very much. Oh, dear. I can tell he's going to piss me off by the end of the game.

- Tails is a cutie-piee :)!

Anywayss, wish me luck in my search. Thanks for a-readin' :D. We live off of reviews. THEY FEED USS.

Revieww, si vous plait :).

--LA


	3. Chapter 3

**LA's A/N: **Haah, hello guys :).

Oh,goodness! Guess what! I finally found Sonic Unleashed (:. It was quite the ordeal to get, too. Okay, so I get really embarrassed and shy about that sort of thing, like video games or movies. I find it so uncomfortable asking the people who work at movie stores or anything. So, like, I went to Blockbuster the other night with m' mommy. But because I'm so stupidly embarrassed about that, I just hover around the videogames trying to find Unleahsed :P.

So I just quickly snatch it up, and take it home, all happy. But… I've got this thing going on where I'm entirely too embarrassed to just go STRAIGHT downstairs to play. So, like, I watch The Sound of Music with my mum and sister. I mean, you couldn't find a LONGER movie than the sound of music. But I kinda… snuck away during the mad Nazi car chase scene XD.

So, as I'm hopping down the stairs, I get this waavvee of pure joy :P. I jump onto my couch and open the case… stick it into the ps3… turn on the tv… and I'm very rudely informed that I took home the ps2 version. LIKE, TEAR! I just sat there for a few minutes, staring at the screen, and then at the manual. It was such a sad moment. But then this morning we went back and switched them :).

SO! So far, I've found the day stages much more fun. But the night stages are pretty monotonous… it's like, "oh my! Another pack of monsters. SQUARE! SQUARE! SQUARE! SQUARE!" I suck at video games (x. So that's what I'm going to do tonight :P. Also, I like being really thorough in games. I like getting every single ring, but without making too many big stops. So Day stages aren't so good for that, because it's really hard to make sharp turns, so making 360's is hard :P.

Anyway, if you could please review, we'd just adore it. So JUST do it :).

I LOVE YOU :).

--LA

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The mind is a tricky thing.

Without much trouble, it can solve most problems, even the most gruelingly difficult ones. Granted, it may take a while, but eventually a fit mind can sort wrong thoughts from right, and deduce the best solution. Sometimes, it has to make heartbreaking decisions between what feels right, and what feels logical. The options of what the logical mind says, and what is truly yearned for by the heart, are often contradictory. And so, the choice which is made is not always what the being in question really wants. This is partly because, when presented with something that insults or crushes the spirit, the mind desperately wants to cushion the blow - because the plain, bland truth can hurt so much more than the repercussions of making a bad decision might. When shown a heartbreaking truth, the optimism of the heart and soul allow denial.

But the wisdom and sense of fact prove truth.

This situation was exactly what was happening to the worn-out, shell-shocked, and mixed-emotional hedgehog; he found himself split between the logic in his mind and the pain in his heart.

Of course, his surroundings made it obvious that he wasn't trapped in a nightmare, or some other terrible fantasy.

His eyes were showing him the inevitable. The reality before him couldn't be erased… there was no mistake. The grave was a sign of past happenings. Proof of a situation which had passed; now done and dusted. If he really needed any solider proof, the empty corpse of a doe rested six feet below himself. And since the date on the stone said she died in the year 2091, it was at least 2091. And if that meant every being he knew was deceased, then they were.

Of course it was a terrible, shocking thing to realize, but, as the saying went, life was full of surprises.

He had to accept it, though in crushed him. He had to accept it.

But still, the feelings of his heart stood up in blazing protest.

They hadn't died. They couldn't have. He had been there, with them, just a few hours in the past, watching in devastation the girl who had always yearned for his heart finally lose interest.

Then he'd run. Maybe he'd… maybe he'd fallen outside the doorstep and he would soon awake, head bandaged, with Amy at his side, squeezing whatever energy he had left right of him… giving apologetic, loving explanations as to why Shadow had been over in the first place… or, better yet, the blue hedgehog would drearily awake in a warm bed to find Amy violently cursing at Shadow as she bruised every part of his body with her hammer.

Maybe, he thought, he had never even made it to Amy's house. Maybe he had passed out from exhaustion from pouring all energy into trying to pick out the perfect rose.

As his self-deception grew more and more unrealistic, he found himself wishing more and more desperately that they were true. Anything would be a relief… anything but this.

There it was again, the denial. Deep down, he knew and resented that it was denial… but it covered the truth, and gave him a sort of last-ditch hope. But then he would press his palms further into the gravestone, and feel the rough texture beneath his gloves. It was real, alright. Denial would work no longer… however desperately he wanted it to.

Letting his forehead rest against the stone, he sat there, attempting to set his breathing pattern and mind straight, inhaling the harsh scent of the cement grave. He was regaining his physical energy… but his hopes seemed to disappear further and further away from him the more fully alert he became… they were now merely shadows he had to strain to see.

"It's all real you know."

For a moment, Sonic hadn't realized someone else had spoken. He absent-mindedly figured it was his body forcing acceptance. But, he realized, his mouth was pressed against the back of his hands, muffling whatever sounds might have come out.

For an instant, he thought Shadow was back; to torment him, to laugh down on him. But Shadow's voice wasn't soft and gentle… or female, for that matter.

Slowly, Sonic let his hands slide down the stone till they reached the grass, letting his head rise up as he did so. Slowly he turned his head around, and for a minute, he couldn't recall the female echidna's name in this mixed up situation. But when his dulled mind took in her tangerine locks, her half-presence, her tribal clothing....

"Tikal?" Even he thought his own voice sounded so weak it would have to be lip-read. However, she must have understood him, as she dipped her head in acknowledgement. Slowly, she stepped beside him, and sank to her knees, sky-blue eyes shut in respectful mourning.

In the brief moment it took her to descend to the ground, her shoulder happened to brush against his. Even beyond her surreal air, it felt so strange to have contact with another living being after leaning of his friends' fate. Then, as the reality of having somebody to speak to washed into his head, he let it flow to his mouth. And it flowed out _very _loudly.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded, delivering ever-calm Tikal the jump she might have experienced had she been delivered an electrical shock. "Why's Shadow here? Why are _you _here? And why is _this_," he fervently waved his hands at the monument, "saying Cream's dead?! I need answe-"

"Pleas calm down Sonic," She said serenely, as the hedgehog became aware that he'd risen to his feet. "I'll tell you everything, just calm down."

Sonic nearly blurted out one of his perfected retorts – having half a dozen in mind - but thought better of it.

Still not purged of the anger which had viciously powered his outburst, he took a relaxing breath.

"Fine."

She dipped her head in appreciation.

"Thank you, Sonic." Her voice was silky and willowy, and brought to mind shadows of the hedgehog's lost friends. "I understand how you feel."

His head snapped up, hostility renewed.

"You understand how I feel?"

"Yes, I-"

"_You understand?_" he repeated, feeling his voice raise by the word. "How could you possibly understand how I feel? I just realized that everybody I ever-"

"Everybody you've ever known is dead." She finished, whispers laced deeply with heartbreak. "Everyone you're ever known. Ever met."

Her voice faded until it was scarcely audible.

"Ever loved."

She cast a small glance towards the farthest grave, then turned to face him.

"I understand how you feel, Sonic the Hedgehog. Please, before you make assumptions, bear in mind that I too watched the deaths of my loved-ones. Such is the price of immortality."

Sonic felt his anger melt away again as he watched ghostly tears drip from her features. The pair was silent for several moments, Tikal's eyes still gazing distantly at the grave concluding the row.

"Come with me, Sonic."

The echidna grabbed him by the hands and gently pulled him to his feet. She shut her eyes, and, with a surge of tangible energy, a flash of light swallowed the world.

* * *

**MiLly's A/N: **Hey guys! In a rush here so like,, sorry if this is a load of junk. So yeah we went for the whole emotional thing here, which I like writing about, blows off some steam! Anywho,, I hope you enjoyed this chapter,, and are fasinated about our Knuckles tatoos! We love him, seriously, we like LOVE him! Screw anyone who doesn't! ;D Anyway,,, thanks for reading,, and if you look below,, theres that green thing? Click on that, and type some stuff you want to say to us, and click submit. Or in short terms,, review! Thanks!

M,.*'Lullabye


	4. Chapter 4

**MiLly's A/N: **Hey guys! =D

Right, I absolutely HATE writers block. I mean, I was doing my history project, and it had to be done the morning before, and I did one paragraph then just sat there drumming my fingers. Literally, like an hour just sitting there, I felt awful. :p It also happened to me when I was writing my one-shot, which will be up soon, hopefully! *crosses fingers*

Anyway, sorry for the advertisement. ;) On with the story!

M,.*'Lullabye

* * *

Falling is a humiliation people try to avoid.

Sonic remembered when he was only little, a small hedgehog whose oversized ears only reached an adult Mobian's knees. He always used to be losing his balance, and would end up sprawled out on the floor under someone's nose. They'd always give a smile, generally ranging somewhere between cheeky, loving, and impatient, depending on the individual, and pull him back to his feet.

At that time, an age of simplicity, and free of the burden of dignity, Sonic didn't care when he fell over. But as he got older, he learned that when you fell over, you didn't just brush it off and grin. People would laugh _at _you. Sometimes, on instances where the hedgehog had faced a formidable foe, he had made a mistake with his feet, and ended up on the floor, being mocked by his opponent. That was what he'd now come to expect. If he fell over, then he'd be looking up at his companion whilst they grinned down in satisfaction.

Like that "oh so great" memory of when he was robbed of his title for winning the World Ex Grand Prix. The words came back to him, "The dirt suites you so well."

Therefore, Sonic kept his head glued to the ground, arms and legs strewed about all over the place. But this time, it wasn't dirt he lay in, but some cool, rough material.

"Wood?" Surely, he'd just been standing on grass… how had it had changed, just like that?

The hedgehog snapped his head up, but he didn't see the endless gravestones which had crowded the hills. Instead, he saw a tiny wooden door, pure pinewood by the looks of it. Hanging baskets with blooming flowers with all colours of the rainbow hung on either side of the door, a tiny 'welcome' mat sitting just beneath it. To Sonic, it seemed familiar somehow, like he'd been through this door before.

"I never got the hang of that landing." A soft giggle drew his attention away from the door to the Echidna lay beside him. "Then again, it's not everyday you go venturing through memories of the past."

Sonic then pieced together the deja vu he'd just experienced with the sentence Tikal had spoken.

"Cream..." He muttered, suddenly certain that he was correct. "This is her house..."

He paused. Tikal gave an encouraging nod, urging him to continue figuring it out for himself.

"…was her house?" He bit his tongue. Those words had a poisonous feeling of betrayal accompanying them. There was something about the fact that he'd come to accept the demise that gave him a feeling that he'd given up on them.

Luckily, Tikal shook her head slowly.

"So we're in the past... " Another nod. "Cream's past?"

"It's not like time-traveling," The spirit spoke ever so gently, "It's like when you'd watch a movie from quite a while a go, except-" She gave a final nod, letting Sonic say the rest.

"We're in the screen... " He trailed off, just realizing now the reason why no one had come storming outside to hear the loud bang which they made when the fell. Or why no one saw the great light out of which they had fallen.

He shakily pushed himself to his knees, yet he found that all his limbs felt like that of a toddler learning to walk. Determined not to let his body get the better of his pride, he stood up in one fluent motion, as his vision wavered in and out of focus. Subconsciously he squeezed his forehead with the palm of his hand, trying to soothe away the sharp pain which seemed to bounce off all the sides of his skull. Falling out of porthole head first was probably the best way to get the mother of all headaches.

Remembering that he had what was left of his gentleman side to maintain, he grasped Tikal around the waist, and hoisted her off the ground. She seemed to be sporting a pain in her head as well, but only kept a small grimace on her face. Unlike the hedgehog, who was groaning quite loudly and holding his head.

"I know it hurts," Tikal said soothingly, Sonic adding a sarcastic comment under his breath, "but you have to get used to it, this isn't the last time we're doing this." Under normal circumstances, Sonic would have been felt awkward, but hearing her voice drip with a tinge of depression and uncertainty, Sonic kept his mouth shut.

She walked forward, just nearly placing her hand on the doorknob, before Sonic's natural reactions kicked in. In a split second he was holding the door open for her, slightly bowed.

"After you, Madame." He said with a playful smile, posing his best posh-nosh accent. Tikal gave a soft smile, tilting her head to the side, yet it seemed once again to be mixed with relief, yet sadness. Then as Sonic closed the door after she'd walked in, it suddenly hit him why. He hadn't joked around ever since he met up with Tikal in the graveyard. Perhaps she was relived to see that his personality was coming back in. But he hadn't used his famous speed since...

Sonic didn't even bother finishing that phrase.

He followed Tikal down the hallway at possibly the slowest pace he had ever mustered, which was very unusual for Sonic. But today was unusual for him, come to think of it. It seemed alien like as he dragged himself forward.

Pictures of Cream plastered the walls. From her cutesy smile, to her adorable outfits, she had never changed. He noted that she seemed to get older as he passed each picture. He remembered how Vanilla had insisted that every picture of her little Cream was framed and placed all over the walls, as she was such a proud mother. Cream had, of course, thought it would look a bit over the top, but Sonic always felt his heart warm up when he came across the walls.

At the very beginning of the hallway, there were photos of the motherly figure to all the gang, Vanilla. She was cradling a blanket, with what appeared to be small bundle of fluff with two large looping ears wrapped tightly in the material. Several of these photos hung across the space in the wall, going from Cream being a tiny newborn, to being a toddling little doe, grinning a toothless smile. The pictures which hung on the lemon coloured wall had neatly scribed little words painted across the bottom; _"The first years"._

The second section must have gone on for about 5 meters, as about a million pictures covered the whole base. You could barely see the sky blue paint beneath all the pictures, they were all of Cream when she was a little heroine; her receiving a medal for bravery from the President, as she curtseyed politely; throwing out flower petals of every colour of the rainbow to a cheering crowed after another win over Eggman; when she had first met Sonic, after the end of another adventure.

Vanilla, Sonic recalled, had insisted Sonic should stay for some cake and a cup of tea. The photo was of the hedgehog sitting on plush chair, showing his pearly whites with Cream sitting on his lap, her eyes sparkling. In every picture, her little companion Cheese hovered over her shoulder.

Yet it was the group pictures that kept Sonic's eyes glued to the wall. He remembered when they'd given themselves the name; "Sonic Heroes". The Sapphire being could remember not being able to count how many times he had seen a camera flash when this had happened, but looking at over fifty pictures, he was certain it was only a small fraction which hung on the wall. The entire group was there, pictures of the whole gang, but then Sonic saw a whole section on "Team Rose".

He had probably seen these photo's many a time, but only now was he really taking them in. Of course sweet little Cream was there, chirpy little cheese, the irreplaceable Big. But more than anything, she was there... and more beautiful then ever. Her bright smile lit up the whole of her face with an angelic glow, her rosy skin soft like spring.

Her eyes always resembled the forest to Sonic. Not just in colour, but in characteristics. Impulse shone in them, like you never would know what would come around the corner. And yet, there was a soft tranquility in there which anybody could confide in… so comforting.

Just like the forest... only more stunning.

Sonic, all of a sudden, felt a burning sensation willing to be let free from his eyes, but this was neither the time nor the place. He forced the tears back, as well as forcing his eyes away from Amy. Instead, he read the writing at the bottom of this wall. _"The years of Adventure"._

He then came across the other wall. The last time he'd set eyes upon it, it had merely been a blank, sunset-orange coloured section of wall. But now, pictures hung from it. Not as many as the hero section, but still a lot.

He wasn't in one picture.

Of course he wasn't. He'd already left then. The pictures, he realized were taken many years later, for Cream had turned into a beautiful woman in these. Almost a replica of her mother, though she still had her air of innocence. But there was more of a strong, determined look in her eyes, like all fear had been erased.

She was standing there, at the opening of a chao garden. But not just any garden. It was like a whole paradise. Then Sonic read the sign on the photo, which ultimately claimed it was owned to the elegant rabbit herself. Chao crowded around her, clutching her dress, laughing. It was a beautiful picture.

In fact, many of these pictures were of the chao colony. Sometimes, Cream didn't even appear in them; there was one of Big, fishing, plus one of the Chaotix. Vector had barely changed. He looked older, and Sonic noted, had his arm wrapped around a beaming Vanilla. They both looked more wise, almost like grandparents. Espio was slinked into the shadows, arms crossed. His facial expression was hidden by the darkness, but he seemed to have grown some. In the middle sat Charmey, playing the drums grinning. Chao huddled around him, giggling. The little bee still looked as cheeky as always, his helmet firmly on his head. He looked bigger, but it was hard to tell, for he was sitting down.

The wall read the words; _"The years of Change"._

Then Sonic realized something drastic. His absence made sense, but where was the rest of the group? Tails? Knuckles? Rouge?

His Angel... why wasn't she there?

What happened to everybody? They were Creams friends, why weren't they there?

"Sonic, I really think you should come now."

Tikals soft voice and gentle tugging on his arm brought him back to reality. He let her pull him away from the walls, watching the pictures disappear from sight. Then, he found himself in front of a door. It was ajar, and Sonic knew what he had to do. But at the same time, he felt as if there was something in there he didn't want to see, something that would haunt him. It was a feeling of dread.

But he drew in a breath, and stepped in.

He froze, like a still frame. He found himself unable to actually place his feelings towards the scene being played out before him when he entered the room.

There on a downy bed lay a small, delicate, elderly rabbit. There was no mistaking who it was; her cuteness and sweetness always gave her away. Even now, a small smile tugged at her lips. One of sadness, acceptance, but of peace. Only her face was visible, for the patchwork blanket covering her went right up to her chin. She was pale, snowy, unnaturally white. Sonic knew why. He knew it, yet he didn't want to say it.

And beside her, another sat unmoving.

_Un-feeling._

No mistaking who that was either. It made Sonic's blood run overdrive. His vision blurred as he felt a rage he couldn't control.

He never changed appearance, for he was the ultimate. Immortal. How could Sonic look so like him? Why did he have to? Maybe if he didn't...none of this would have happened. Amy wouldn't have fallen for him, because he looked so like Sonic. She wouldn't have gone to the bastard.

The only thing keeping Sonic from running over there and attempting to punch Shadow's lights out was the female that lay in the bed. Sonic knew this was a memory, and they couldn't see, hear of feel him, but he felt a need to control his anger and stay quiet as Cream started to speak.

"So... I guess soon it'll just be you?" Shadow didn't respond. Her voice was still small and soft, yet now it was weak and scratchy, as if she had a bad throat infection. "I never really thought that only two of us would last this long. So many fell, it's strange how one person can affect so many."

"He was a leader. Some of them loved him, some loathed him. But whoever it was, him not being there was bound to change things drastically." Shadow spoke in his monotone voice. Strangely, Sonic didn't feel and hatred boil inside him.

"I still wonder," the rabbit said softly, "some didn't believe he was dead. Maybe he didn't, maybe he just left..."

"Cream, he like to run, but he wouldn't leave if he knew the destruction it would cause. No, it was something else. He didn't die, I'm sure of that, but wherever he went, it wasn't intentional."

Now, the blue hedgehog was completely confused. How did Shadow know this?

"He always did have a heart of gold; he loved his friends, all of them." Cream said, smiling nostalgically. Sonic almost found himself chuckling at how old she sounded. "You're probably right."

"I _know_ I'm right." Shadow closed his eyes. "He has that vibe about him." That was twice Shadow had talked about him in the present tense. What was going on?

"And years later, here I am." Cream's smile got wider. "I don't have any regrets, not one. Even after everything..." her voice was getting softer, "everything. I look back, and I did all I could. And I can honestly say I'm proud. And now, it's the right time for me."

Her smile went back to the small, shy line across her face.

"You should be proud." Shadow smiled, not a sinister one, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. More one of gratitude. "You always had an innocence about you, that's why I liked you. Because...well..." Shadow trailed off.

"I reminded you of Maria..." Shadow gave a nod. "You have been so strong Shadow, so strong. Promise me..." She let out a low breath. "Promise me you'll never change."

"I won't."

She smiled again, but no breaths left her.

"I know you won't..." Her voice drifted away, and her eyes slipped shut. She looked asleep, just asleep. The only difference, there was no rise and fall in her chest.

Dead.

She was dead.

Sonic had just watched her die.

He watched shadow let go of her hand. Had he been holding her hand? Sonic hadn't noticed, but it didn't matter.

He'd just watched his friend die.

Right in front of him.

He saw the room slowly backing away from him, as Tikal pulled him by the arm, like a lifeless puppet. He passed the corridor, through the porch, and then it was all white.

* * *

**LA's A/N: **Well! There you have it! One down, many to go :D! I'm talking about killing off characters if you couldn't tell :). But don't assume that everyone dies or anything…

…

Ahhmm… anyway! Hannah wrote this one, if I recall. I edited :D. I like how she did it… admittedly, I feel like the picture scene went on for a bit too long, but that's okay.

I don't have too much to talk about at this here moment… it's very late, and I'm tired :).

Oh, here's something to talk about. Okay. So, the other day… that would be last Sunday evening, I think? Well I was at my grandma's for supper. Not ten seconds through the front door, I fall down the stairs. Now, I do that a lot XD. A LOT. But, you know, this one was worse than usual. I mean, I was totally fine… I hopped back up and went, "I'm okay," but my mommy's like "OH,golly! Are you OKAY?" because apparently it looked pretty rough.

But I was totally fine… my arm and leg were a bit sore, but I have a high pain tolerance. HOORAY. So, we go and have our nice supper and everything.

But then I go home, right? I think I was doing Geography homework at the time… and I look down, and it looks like a freaking insect laid eggs under my skin XD! No! There was like this golfball sized lump on my right forearm! So I went upstairs, and my mom's all, "CANYOUMOVEYOURFINGERS?!" and I'm all, "YESICAN!" so she told me to ice it… and I didn't, because ice would be cold x).

But yeah, I was totally fine and all, it's just that now, it's this wicked-awesome-deadly bruise :). And I never get bruises! Seriously, this thing is… wait, I'munna measure it. 96 cm SQUARED. Holy gracious :D! I'm awfully proud of it. It's got this huge, brown ocean around it, then there's green with purple polka dots, then this random little patch in the very center where it's white.

HOOHOO! I should get more bruises C:.

Anyway! I'm going to bed. Math exam 9.30 on Monday… send me good mental vibes. And reviews.

--LA


	5. Chapter 5

**LA's A/N: **Chaapter five :). Delightful!

Arritie, now is when the REAL collaboration begins… because we split this chapter down the middle :D! … well, not quite the middle. My part of the story is so boring – besides chapter one, I've been covering the stuff that takes part in the future – so boring that it needs to be shortened X). Sigh.

Ah… I can't say anything, because that would give it away, but there's a very SAD moment going on heerree…

I haven't got a whole lot to talk about right noww :)…

Enjoy!

--LA

* * *

The sky is something that one never stops to admire.

The pristine blue of it was something, Sonic realized, not to be taken for granted.

He wondered dully if the colour would ever seep back in. Though he knew dimly that the entire world couldn't have suddenly lost its pigment, his eyes told him differently. Hmm… there it was again. His logic trying to fight off the other senses, currently tainted with upset. Funny.

Not really.

He felt as if he was surrounded by a damp rag, soggy and dripping with his stolen senses, constricting. Feeling short of breath, he looked around at the jungle clearing. Tikal, nowhere to be seen now, had landed him what he sized up to be about fifty meters from the fence of graves. He felt his heart sink.

It wasn't Cream that was getting to him at the moment. His spirit was resilient, and he lived under the philosophy that if a life was lived well, there could be no reason to fret once it ended. He'd seen her go. It hadn't been a moment of pain, or loneliness… she'd been happy, and she left in peace. But those photos he'd seen wallpapering the hall. How his friends' faces had seemed to dwindle the farther he walked.

It was not knowing that chiseled away at him. He was smart enough to click together the fact that they were all gone… and he'd mostly come to accept that. But he had no way of knowing whether they'd suffered, whether they'd died alone and cold… whether he should feel guilt.

He did anyway. There was one underlying undeniable fact. He didn't have to run. It was stupid, really. All this had been preventable. That could have been him by Cream's side. His mind didn't even rationalize the age factor. He just felt resent coursing beneath his skin when he thought of Shadow standing there… so quite, so grim. So not Cream.

He hated being sullen and pessimistic like this. Sonic was a social creature. What he really needed was someone to come and pull him from this slum. Someone to say "snap out of it!"

He needed his friends. He needed the sight of another familiar mobian. One who wasn't a ghost, and wasn't a memory… and wasn't Shadow.

Yeah, he thought to himself with a trace of flat humor, good luck with that.

He sighed, and numbly bit his lips, letting himself fall to his back. He found it hard to describe anything… simply because he could feel very little. He asked himself what he felt, blandly trying to stimulate his nerves back into function.

Forcing mind to concentrate on body, he felt grass prickling his extended arms… a light breeze on his cheek… waves of heat from the sun.

Ah, still not whole yet.

What do you hear?

Nothing. There was silence, as far as he could tell. No voices.

What do you see?

Lying there flat, he saw nothing but the pastel skyscape. Just blue. Well, maybe cyan or something like that. For some reason, he sometimes found it hard to label things as "blue'. _He _was blue. Those other colours were just semi-blues. No sky, or – God forbid – ocean captured blue in all its glory.

He blinked and focused his eyes until he could pick out details in the sky. A few wispy clouds in the distance… a gradual gradient across the canvas… the sun.

He smiled. It was a comforting thing to see. Just a circle in the sky, but so significant. That sun had hung faithfully above his head every day of his life, and it still hadn't abandoned him. He'd sat with his friends under that sun. He'd fought battles next to it in space. It was there like a mother.

And like a mother, it made him feel better. Not just feel. With the trace of content in him, he could see again. His ears sang suddenly with the reverberations of the island.

He turned his head, gazing into the matured jungle. His newly sharpened senses drew his eyes to a patch of shining red flowers.

Not putting much thought into his actions, he lifted himself to his feet, careful to relish the feel of the humid air on his previously smothered arms. He walked towards the patch of flowers.

They were, he knew, wild roses. They glimmered with dew, like facetted rubies, and he much preferred them to the prim, tightly-wound long stem rose he'd given to Amy. He could detect their perfume in the breeze, though he wasn't one to stop and smell the flowers.

He looked down at his hands, and then tilted his head up to the sky.

Just April showers, he told himself. That's all this is.

"Sonic…"

Tikal again. The hedgehog turned, to her, feeling newly refreshed.

"Oh, hey Tikal." He said, grinning. She looked surprised, but not unpleasantly so.

"You look well," she said in her harp-like voice.

There was a peaceful, comfortable silence between the two for a moment, before Tikal spoke again.

"Are you ready to return again?"

Sonic exhaled, and nodded.

"Very well." The echidna said gently. She took his hands. They were soft even beyond her ghostly half-presence, Sonic noticed.

She let her lids slide shut.

* * *

For a moment, he was running. His feet ran in the faultless motion that he'd perfected from infancy. It wasn't until his foot was replaced with his knee, and he was left sprawled all over the floor did Sonic realize he had just been stumbling a landing.

This time, he felt grass beneath him. It wasn't like ordinary grass, it was as soft as a blanket, and smelt as crisp as the cool air of an ice age. Almost as if the grass was up in the air... just like the grass on...

"Wait..." He lifted his head, to see the familiar forest he'd walked through so short ago. Indeed, it was Angel Island. At first he thought he'd just been transported to a different part of the island by mistake. He rolled onto his back, and indeed it was the same sun. It was the same grass, the same surroundings, everything seemed the same. Sonic let his eyes close, and let his mind become part of the air. Something felt different to him, there was something _major _that was different. Then, he snapped his eyes open, realizing what it was.

Something was alive.

He rolled back over, and jumped to his feet, getting ready to find someone, or something other than himself or Tikal. Remembering her, he turned around, seeing her on her knees. She looked in pity at him, and let out a breath.

"Sonic, it's just a memory." The excitement rushed away with the wind, and everything went back to the way it was. Maybe something was alive in this memory, but it was something in the past.

Tikal stood, and Sonic took notice, that her hands were quivering. She stood beside him, and her eyes were directed at something Sonic couldn't see.

"Do you know where we are?" Her question seemed to make something in Sonic's mind click, and instead of answering her, he walked to where her eyes were seemingly directed at nothing. He pushed back leaves, branches, and finally caught site of what he'd been sub-consciously aware of.

He'd remembered the first time he embarked this, he'd been wanted for death. Over time he'd visited here, teasing, helping, hanging around, the lot. It hadn't changed one bit, well, the shrine hadn't.

Its guardian on the other hand...

Knuckles was sat on the steps, in deep thought, unaware of anything stirring around him. He looked taller, a lot taller. He'd also taken to wearing clothes, clad in a black boots, a black vest and hat. It must have been quite a few years since Sonic left, for not only his appearance had changed, his eyes. They were still the same Royal Violet they'd always been, but the colour had iced over. Normally the echidna carried the same cool, determined look. Yet, they were not hard, or un-feeling. They reminded Sonic of a melting candle, the spark still feisty and alive. Sometimes the spark could be one of anger, or one of excitement. But they were never anything icy.

But now...

The flame had burnt out, and had left a hard, dull wax. It made the hedgehog uncomfortable, knowing that he must have been through a lot to make him this way. Knowing that himself was to blame made him even more uncomfortable.

There was a flash of light which broke Sonic from his thoughts, when he looked again, a familiar ebony and scarlet hedgehog stood facing Knuckles.

"Stupid git..." Sonic mumbled, annoyed at the very sight of him. Shadow really was starting to get on his last nerve, everywhere he went now, there he was. It wasn't just the fact that he took away the one girl he loved, it was just the fact he was never rid of him.

"Sonic, this isn't the time, just watch." The scolding drew the hedgehogs thoughts back to the scene playing out before him.

Knuckles had stood the moment Shadow had appeared, and had held his gaze, waiting for something. Shadow looked apprehensive, narrowing his eyes slowly.

"Are you sure this will work?" He drawled the question, obviously not convinced by whatever the echidna had planned. In response Knuckles lowered his head, and gave a hard glare.

"I've told you more than once." His tone was short and clipped, it was clear he was getting irritated. "I know the emerald inside-out and backwards, I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't sure."

"I don't want you wasting my time, so I just want to making sure I've come up here for a reason." Shadow knew perfectly how to wind people up, and Knuckles was easy to anger. So sure enough, Knuckles leaned forward, cracking his fists.

"Unlike you Shadow, I cared about what happened. So maybe if I can change that, we'll never have to deal with this problem. Besides, I'm sure you're not very busy, just going on your daily ego trip-"

"I thought guests were supposed to be treated with a bit of respect, and I'm sure you don't want me to leave." Shadow gave a smirk, turning the echidna's comment to his advantage. "What with me gone, how will you be able to conduct your little experiment?" Knuckles appeared baffled for a moment, throwing a glare at the hedgehog. Not finding anything to say back, he settled on spinning round, and slowly ascending the steps of the shrine. Now one thing was definitely clear to Sonic, these two were anything but friends. He felt a sudden urge to go pat the echidna on the back.

"The Master Emerald's power is so great, that I believe it can change time. It took a lot of searching the island, but I eventually found it has been done before." Shadow followed him up the stairs, the little comments they made about each other seemingly brushed off. "About 2000 years ago, a guardian lost his son in a bush fire, it gave him a huge deal of grief, as you can imagine. He wanted his son so badly, he turned to the emerald. He made a connection to it, using the memory of a day before the fire, when his son was alive."

"Did it work?"

"It was successful, yes. The father got to travel back to a few days before, and take his son away before the fire started. However, it's said that a connection between the emerald and your mind is extremely dangerous, and can only be used on the account of a memory. But it is wise to have someone with you, like a backup if anything is to go wrong. Which is why I chose you… since you're so used to chaos control."

"So, with you traveling back into your old body, you will be able to stop whatever happened the day it all changed?"

Knuckles gave a nod. He stood directly in front of the emerald, Shadow slightly behind him.

"Of course I will have to live my whole life again from that point, but it's worth it if I can stop whatever happened." He turned his head slightly, so he was half-facing Shadow. "Stay where you are through the process, because only guardians can make this connection. I don't know how this will work, but I want to make sure nothing goes wrong."

There was a gut-feeling, as Knuckles said those words, that made Sonic instinctively know what would happen. Something was going to wrong, drastically wrong, for if Knuckles had succeeded, none of this would of happened.

Shadow gave a nod, even though his face held the same flat expression, Sonic could see a faint glint of hope in his eyes. "I hope you succeed, guardian."

Knuckles gave a nod, and raised his hands. Sonic felt his breath hitch in his throat-

"Oh Knucklehead..." A sing-song voice echoed from above the trees, as a moon coloured bat swiftly landed next to Knuckles. Shadow rolled his eyes and turned away, as Knuckles squeezed his eyes shut and scowled.

"Rouge, now is not a good time for me." He spelled the words out beneath gritted teeth, obviously not in the mood for the seductive girl's antics. Rouge cocked her hip to one side, and narrowed her eyes.

"You never have the right time for me, all you have time for is that over-sized gem. Why don't you start being a little more sociable?"

"I mean it Rouge, just go away, because I need to concentrate." If maybe it had been another girl, she would have listened to his voice and watched his actions, knowing she just needed to back down.

But of course, this was Rouge the Bat.

"Why can't you just try and be nice for once? You know sometimes, you're more dense than a piece of pipe. Just take sometime away from that thing, and talk to me."

"My actions are more important than having tramps like you shove your breasts at me and try to get me into bed with your little sweet talk! Now do me a favour, and fly off, batty."

Rouge's eyes narrowed furiously. The echidna tried to brace himself for a sharp slap across the face, or a roundhouse kick to the stomach. But instead of delivering her strike, she turned on a high heel and dove into the forest.

But now wasn't the time to think of what he'd said, he could change that now. He let the memory over-power him, and shared it with the emerald. There was a chartreuse glow which connected the two, and Knuckles appeared unaware of anything else around him. But, why was it working? Was it supposed to work? Would everything return to normal?

"This is last time you insult me you stupid, idiotic bastard!" From nowhere, Rouge appeared again, and this time, she raised her foot, not and Knuckles, but the emerald.

"Rouge, don't!" Shadow shouted it above the noise, but Rouge slammed her foot down, the emerald shattering beneath her heel.

It was meant as an action out of anger, little did she know what would happen next.

The power from the gem flooded into Knuckles head, and he let out a blood-curling scream. He clutched his head, and fell heavily onto the floor. He writhed and struggled, eyes squeezed shut. The power was too great, too painful, burning his brain, killing his mind. He couldn't take the air in, for he was screaming too much. His yell became louder, and higher, to the point where it sounded as if he were being tortured with his worst nightmare. Sonic could almost feel the burning of the power, pounding at his head, burning his eyes.

The echidna couldn't take it anymore, he let out a breath, and the power left him, deflating him, leaving him still and silent.

If anyone hadn't saw the horror he just went through, one would have mistook his death for something like Cream's. But it was nothing like that, it was violent, brutal, _hell._

Rouge was sobbing with shock as she stumbled towards him, make-up running down her perfect cheekbones. She reached a hand to him, hoping that somehow he'd wake up, he'd be okay, he'd be anything but this.

Then, the island gave a rumble, and Rouge stumbled back, falling over. Rocks crashed, and everything seemed to be falling. The shakes of the isle threw Rouge and Shadow around like rag dolls, crashing into the walls and steps of the shrine.

Angel Island was sinking, and now, there was no Guardian around to prevent it.

* * *

**MiLly's A/N: **Damn... I hated writing the killing of Knuckles... I was like.. "I'm awfuull! D:" But at least I got it out the way with. ;)

God.. right we were given this stupid geography project right, and like its about a holiday brochure for an island with a deadly volcano. And we have to write literally about twenty pages.. and get high levels.. in one week! D: I mean, I don't even like geography.. so its gunna come across as a load of rubbish. ;) Aren't some teachers unfair?

Do any of you guys get things happening like that, or is it just the British teachers being mean? ;D

Anyways.. hope you enjoyed... reviews make Hannah and Emma happy Bunnies! :D

M,.*'Lullabye


	6. Chapter 6

**MiLly's A/N: **Yoyo guys. ;)

So, right, I'd just like to tell you about the most sweetest thing LA did for me. It was birthday right, 28th Feb, and I was proper hyperactive. I'd been to see a concert the night before, (Those of you who've seen "The X Factor" with Simon Cowell, I am in love with the boy band JLS! 3 I mean literally, I was like Amy over Sonic. :p) and anyway I'd had the best birthday ever. So I check my emails, there's one from LA, and she'd actually taken the trouble to draw me as a Sonic character! I like was so happy, you have no idea, she is the most sweetest girl ever. She even drew me hugging Knuckles! :O I. Love. Her.

Anyway, here's the next instalment, from the newest Sonic character, Hannah The Stingray. ;) And I'll soon have a character for LA, let's say, Emma the Angel for now eh? :)

Enjoy! ^^

M,.*'Lullabye

* * *

Pain is a thing of great variety.

Things can ache, sting, burn. However, in all of its spectrum, it can generally be labeled as a negative.

And there was pain.

Not so much in, what she felt obliged to label as, death, as its preceedings.

There must have been a span of about twelve seconds when the island seemed to stand still in the sky, where it furrowed its brow and glanced around uncertainly. "Are you sure?" it asked the world. It didn't want to drop, but realized quickly enough that it had no choice in the matter.

And so, it let out a resigned sigh and proceeded to hastily plough air from its path as gravity summoned it downward. Tendrils of magic tried to cling and hold and slow the massive object's freefall, but they were useless as the tangled strings of an abandoned marionette, and only managed to inject a touch of indolence into the plunge.

On a more macro scale, two beings remained on the landform.

"_Wake up!_" Rouge shouted furiously, pounding her fists against still flesh. "You stupid, pig-headed idiot!"

There was no reason in her action, no thought powering each hit; she simply beat mindlessly until the terrible crack of bone smashed against her ears. She withdrew, shocked, holding her arms up and staring in anguish at his deflated chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" She demanded lividly, "_Wake up!_"

It was so wrong, so terrible to see her harsh words flow over him like a breeze. No veins bulged with anger, no annoyance shot from his eyes. He really was gone.

Too stubborn to accept it, she screamed irately in his unmoving face until her throat finally gave out. But, at the same time, she wasn't sure she could've come up with any more spiteful things to throw at him anyways.

The bat, shaking, let herself fall next to him. As much as she wanted to hate him at that moment, as much as it would have cushioned her heartbreak, she could feel her anger began to ebb away and her breath calm.

Reaching out a gloved hand, she gently brushed a dirty quill from his face to reveal a small ear perched on the side of his head. Her body clenched at the sight of the slender worm of dark blood dripping from it, but she continued jerkily forward.

Her lips padded one another a few times before she could form the words.

"I'm so sorry."

Just then, the island gave a massive lurch as the remaining power which had restrained its fall finally gave way.

Suddenly fully without the strain of gravity, the elderly stones of the shrine began to break apart. Before Rouge had time to even look up from her mourning, she felt one of the massive bricks land, pinning the bottom half of her body into a space into which it couldn't dream of fitting even after a lifetime of careful dieting.

It was about now that the mentioned pain kicked in.

She didn't scream, but every nerve in her body did. Her shoulders hunched forward in agony as best they could, though her left hand was caught, crushed beneath the stone. With each heavy beat of her shocked heart, a spasm of throbbing torment.

'_Get a hold of yourself.'_

This voice was distant, but stern. She couldn't tell whether it was a real person, or just her own mind, but, for some traumatized reason, the bat could see no reason to question its existence. Besides, it had a good point.

_Relax_, she told herself, trying to be strong.

Struggling to take in a choppy breath, she strained to lift her head, finding her surroundings dizzily blurred. Out of the blotted scene, she could make out two sharply crimson pinpoints.

As double-vision began to piece itself together, she tried to cough his name. But "Shadow" came out as a hollow, soggy rasp.

Dark splotches wandered inconspicuously in close to the center of her vision, the salty taste of blood on her tongue.

And yet, even through the light-headedness, she could feel the cold hatred her former partner shot at her, his eye ridges lowered in flat, silent observation.

He watched as beads of icy sweat drenched the fur on her face.

It seemed as though her eye makeup, in all of its volume, had finally overcome its perch as her lids began to shakily slide towards the earth. But before her lashes touched, daggers of white light flashed to deliver a final blow of blinding pain, and Shadow was gone, leaving her alone for dead.

As the island crashed into the globe below in a terrible explosion of rock and soil and snapped trees, she died beside him.

* * *

Flat on his back, wind knocked out of him, Sonic figured he was back in the graveyard.

He let his arms and legs stretch out, trying to relax, trying to forget. Maybe if he forgot, everything would be okay.

_It's a normal day, it's a peaceful day. The sun's shining like it always does, and the sky is brighter than ever._

"Sonic."

_It's a normal day, everything's good, great, fantastic._

"Sonic please..."

He was back at home. All of that nonsense was just a crazy dream.

_Everything's fine, everything's normal._

"You need to talk."

None of it had happened. Rouge hadn't broken all her bones from the impact of falling rubble. Knuckles hadn't suffered a torturous death that made him scream in agony. No, nothing like that. Everything was normal.

"Please say something."

They hadn't died because of him, because he'd done nothing wrong. Nothing had happened; it was just a wild dream.

_Everything's fine and dandy. _

He rolled over, away from the sky. He didn't need to avert any sights, because everything was normal.

His eyes said differently. Everything was not normal, nothing was fine, and it was certainly not good, great or fantastic. The grim sight of the cemetery still greeted him, and Tikal knelt solemnly just a small distance away.

"How could he do that?" He asked quietly, feeling suddenly angry.

The girl suddenly found the grass beneath her extremely interesting, not knowing what to reply to the hedgehog. But Sonic knew that the grass was interesting. He'd studied it many times before. Maybe she was trying to distract herself as well, or maybe it was just him making assumptions. He didn't know anymore, he didn't know what to think, feel, say, do. He didn't know.

"Shadow was angry," she said slowly, almost as if trying to convince herself too, "… Understandably,"

He turned his head to her, eyeridges low.

"Don't say that." He snapped, then lifted himself to his feet. "I'm going to find him."

"Sonic!" Tikal called pleadingly, "No."

She grabbed his wrist as he turned to run.

"Please," she said softly, stepping closer to him, "just wait."

Something about the sadness in her defused his anger. Slumping back into a heap, he stared into the grass again.

"I hate that memory." Tikal's shaky voice brought his attention back to her. "Just the way it happened. It was... unfair. So unfair."

He'd never heard Tikal speak in this manner; she was normally one to accept and move on. Besides, she'd known what was going to happen.

"Why's it so important you?" The words came from his lips, sounding hollow, even harsh. Not his usual cocky demeanour, not even pain-filled, just flat.

"I watched Knuckles grow." She started fiddling with the blades of grass. "I saw his emotions, feelings, everything. I still see him as the little boy who was growing in front of my eyes, and sometimes I'd feel like a proud parent watching their son. But for him to die... in that way, was just brutal, and then for Rouge..." Her head snapped up, and Sonic once again saw the glowing tears flowing slowly from her eyes. "He loved her, and she loved him, and they never even knew."

That hit pretty close to home for the hedgehog. Amy probably never knew how he felt. She may have received his parting gift, but would she ever have come to realize how strongly he felt about her?

He diverted his eyes so the echidna would not see the shining sadness seeping through his lids. He needed to keep a level head, and not cry.

Unfortunately, looking away lead him to see the names of the two people he'd just watched.

It felt surreal seeing the graves, like it wasn't happening. Any minute now he expected someone to run out and yell, "Gotcha!"

But that was certainly not happening today. Sonic let himself crawl towards the stones, his legs too numb to stand. He tilted his head to one side, like a curious child, studying Rouge's stone.

_Rouge the Bat_

_A huntress, an agent, and a beautiful soul, inside and out._

_She will be remembered._

_Born June 28th 1990_

_Died March 6th 2024_

Sonic wasn't sure if she'd had a beautiful soul inside. She was cunning, manipulative, and had said a lot hurtful things. But maybe beauty was something not to be stereotyped. Maybe that was what made her beautiful in her own way, as girls seemed to look up to her as a role model.

Maybe beneath all the flaws in her personality she was just another sensitive girl, not wanting to throw away her mask. When Sonic saw her sob at her love's corpse, he knew that mask was gone.

He rolled his head more to the side to get a look at the other grave. It was noticeably more decorative than Rouge's, and fresh flowers lay beneath it.

_Knuckles the Echidna_

_Protector to his island, his emerald, and his soul mates._

_May his spirit live on._

_Born February 2nd 1992_

_Died March 6th 2024_

He'd never called Knuckles a soul mate before, but now that he thought about it, they were all soul mates. Maybe not in the regular context, lovers, but they were all soul mates in the sense that they were destined to meet.

Sonic had never doubted that for a second.

He couldn't possibly believe that it was by pure coincidence that he'd met all these people, and stayed knowing them for as long as he did. He knew that somewhere, there was a reason for meeting them. That they were like pieces of a puzzle, that were scattered across the world and time, but eventually were pieced together to make an original picture.

"I lay fresh flowers here every week." The ghostly, delicate hand traced the petals of one of the pale vanilla lilies. "I pick these flowers because they came from what I liked to call his 'special place'." She let a sad, but soft smile graze her lips. "I would take you, but as childish as it sounds," Her aqua-marine eyes flickered with a small gleam. "It's a secret."

Sonic was no stranger to places which he held special in his heart, he'd traveled the world, and he'd seen many stunning sights. Sunsets, twilights, daybreaks.

But no sight came even close to being as beautiful as she was.

The hedgehog forced his thoughts away from her once again – he knew he'd face them soon enough.

"I want you to prepare yourself this time, Sonic." The motherly tone seemed sudden, as just a minute ago Tikal had sounded just as angry and upset as he felt. But he listened all the same. "Just try to..." She couldn't continue her advice, for she didn't know what he could do to make it any easier for himself.

"The sooner we do this, the better." It was suddenly on his feet, tears pushed far down. Instead, a cold, ice look was used as a shield to stop his emotions from running wild. At first, the echidna was going to protest. But if Sonic said he was ready, then she didn't want to doubt him.

She let herself rise, and weaved her palm with his. In the blink of an eye, the world flashed away.

* * *

**LA's A/N: **Heyyaa guys :)! Ahmmm, well, the long wait on this one is completely and ONE HUNDRED percent my fault. Sorry. And, I mean, my half's only like ten words long too XD! Failll. If it's worth anything, the update would've been yesterday, but FFnet was on drugs. To be honest, the thing that gave me the most trouble was writing that first "PAIN IS BAD"… ech, I'm so unhappy with it. But I couldn't hold out on the update for any longer. So suck it up.

Okay… so :). How're things for you guys?

Ahh, we had this whole big concert thing on Thursday evening, which was great fun :). Echh, yes, I'm in band XD. Too cool for school, I am! My friends and I are doing it because there's a trip to Toronto in May… and I just can't wait for that :D! Yeah, I play bai sax which is so great, except it weighs about as much as I do. My neck gets awfully sore from the strap. For anyone who doesn't know, you have to hold the thing on, like, a necklace so it can hang to your side, and it's a bitch on the back XD. I've been eyeing this expensive strap thing that goes around your body like a backpack.

Also, it's so nice outside right nowww ;w;! Our weather is completely bipolar, though. Like, beginning of last week, it was all nice, and it looked like spring was coming, but then we get this massive winter storm on Tuesday night. Literally, like 30cm. So I was ready to shoot myself in the head, right? But THEN, it gets warm again. The thing is, this is actually SUPER early for spring to be starting :)… so I just hope it stays.

Thank you, global warming!

WELL! Thanks for reading, review pleasieeess ^^C:!

--LA

p.s: Sorry about the page separators in this chapter… ffnet was on the fritz, so I couldn't use the document manager to stick in normal ones.


	7. Chapter 7

**LA's A/N: **heyheyheyy:)! Hehh, this chapter would've been up ages and ages ago, but my daddy decided to redo our computer, which took him a whiillee, then I went away for the Easter Weekend to visit my aunt in the middle of nowhere. Literally, like, ten people living in this town. I would've uploaded the chapter there, but no internet. Ahh, this week, I wrote the second half of the chapter :), and we're getting very near to the end, like only one or two more chapters to go. Excitingg!

Emmm, this week's pretty exciting, because my birthday is on… tomorrow (:… _hint-hint_? But, yeah, I'mma be fifteen XD. Gosh!

OH,GOD,ALSO! Okay, so I was taking a bath the other day, right? So I'm super relaxed and enjoying the bliss… but then… brace yourself… a housefly. He zooms right straight through the open window, and I'm just like, "ohGODit'sstarting!" It was so dreadful. And then I was in church on Sunday (let's just _not_ go into that) and there were like ten of them on the stained glass window beside me, but not in any of the other ones. That town's little church was the cutest little thing, though, with like four rows of benches. And ten thousand house flies.

Hmm… what else… oh, I went to see Monsters vs. Aliens, twice ^^! Ahaa, I really enjoyed it. There were some jokes where it was like, "uhm,yeah, you could not.." but I actually liked it XD. Roger Ebert (… I'm so not opinionated that I get lots of my thoughts from him. Don't judge me.) says that the characters were really week, and I totally see what he means in how they were kinda vague and we never got to know them, but I still fell in love with them. Like, they struck me as the kind of characters I'd enjoy reading fanfiction about, y'know? I actually did wander over there in search of some satisfying stories, but nothing caught my eye. Or if they were to get put in some dead serious plot. I got all these weird looks when I said it, but I think Missing Link was my favourite for some screwed up reason. When I saw it the first time, it was like, "ahaa I want to hug you even though you're such a greasy character!" but then the second time, it was kinda, "oh, wow, you're greasy." But if I could marry one, it'd be him. Actually, I think it's just because of Will Arnett. G.O.B for the win! No, I don't mean B.O.B :). G.O.B from Arrested Development. Gosh, I'd kill for that show to come back on TV.

They had the best little voice actors, what with him and Hugh Laurie :D! Both of them are on my "people I'd like to meet" list. I'd like to watch the footage of him doing his mad scientist laugh more than the movie.

OH, and I saw the teaser trailer for Where the Wild Things Aree! Oh,gosh, isn't that the most exciting news of LIFE? That's probably my favourite book.

Happy Easter Monday :)!

--LA

p.s: Stone Cold 14 tomorrow ;D!

* * *

Pollution is a controversial topic

As Sonic observed, the smells of worn petrol and burning coal filled the air around him. He found it slightly amusing that the whole planet complained about global warming, and plugged about going 'green' all the time in the media.

Yet, he found it rare to find a civilized place which wasn't fuming with pollution. No one could win, they were literally having a battle against themselves, and losing.

"Smooth, move guys," Sonic muttered to no one in particular.

As soon as Sonic had muttered the words, his mind started to wander. He knew that he'd end up being more than a little upset after this trip, and constantly wished never to see the flashbacks… but it was him who cause all of it. His fault, all of it.

"But I'm no better..."

"Did you say something Sonic?" The indistinct voice of Tikal sounded in his ear, and he remembered that he was in a memory once again.

His senses came around once again, as he'd only been taking in the smells. He let his eyes show the sights, and what he saw brought back déjà vu.

He was in the suburbs of Central City. He'd been here before, many times. The graffiti of curses and burnt holes in the ground only confirmed his prediction.

He perked his ears, suddenly hearing a set of sounds that Sonic could only relate them battle.

Ignoring the echidna's earlier question, he got to his feet. He was steadier this time than he had ever been. If he was going to watch this, he wanted to be strong like the hero he was, not weak, not now.

Striding ahead, he knew instinctively that the battle was just around the corner. He felt a slight boldness which hadn't been there in a while, and was now not afraid of what was to come around the wall. He could take it. Hell, he was Sonic the Hedgehog.

Not even pausing once, he turned the corner. But what he saw stopped him in his tracks. The barriers of being strong and bold cracked and crumbled it into tiny pieces.

It was a battle alright, and the first eye-catching source was a humongous metal robot. It resembled its apparent owner, wearing a huge nose, a pair of circular eyeglasses and a spiky metal moustache. The controller sat perfectly in the head of his creation, wearing the usual deluded grin that seemed drawn on. Sonic felt an old flare catch in his chest seeing Robotnik for the first time in ages, he wasn't sure if it was a flare of excitement or anger or nerves.

Opposite the enemy was another large machine, not quite so much so as its opponent, but it still looked worthy of doing damage. It seemed to be in the shape of a proud hawk, with its corners deadly sharp, and its position lean and tall. But as the hedgehog looked closer to see its driver, he felt the urge to sob.

No, not now. He was not ready for this. He would not watch Tails die.

He told himself desperately to move, to avert his eyes, to tell Tikal to take him back. But his senses weren't responding. He felt trapped and useless, and now physically sick. He could only watch, mortified, at the scene acting out before him.

Eggman was sitting there as if it were a casual outing with his friends, arms crossed and slouching slightly. He looked his opponent up and down, and then gave his Santa-sounding cackle.

"Seems like your getting better at this, foxy. I might even get a dent in my machine if I'm not careful." The little kit scowled at this, the frown looking alien on his sweet features.

Sonic couldn't even remember Tails letting a scowl even flash onto his face, ever. The gentle fox only ever got that determined gleam in his eyes when he was ready for a fight, or a broken, lost-puppy look when he was upset. He never, _ever_ scowled.

Yet here he was, pulling off a look Sonic had seen countless times upon Shadow's face. Eyes cold, yet blazing with warning, mouth twisted in an awkward fashion and head lowered ever so slightly. It wasn't right, it just wasn't right.

"I will stop you this time Eggman, I won't let you win!" Despite the frown, the foxes shout quivered with an obvious fear. As Sonic heard this, he felt his strong brotherly instincts try to kick in. He took a protective stance, but then remembered that there was nothing he could do.

The scientist cracked a wide, psychotic grin, and cackled with laughter. "Oh, little Tails, how grown up you are now. Since you became a murderer, you're all tough."

The hedgehog felt his mouth drop wide. No way, this could not be happening. Not his baby brother, never his baby brother. He was anything but a killer.

Tails expression wore the lost-puppy look Sonic had seen countless times. His bottom lip quivering ever so slightly, guilt etched upon his face. He then screwed his eyes shut, and turned his head away, giving a tiny whimper.

"Sonic, please be proud of me."

Then, happening in a blur of colours, he stepped on the gear. The machine sped forward, and collided with an unexpecting Doctor. The explosion was colossal, forcing Sonic to clamp his hands over his ears and turn away.

When the noise had subsided, the hedgehog removed his hands, and turned his head back to the scene.

There was no battle anymore, hardly any trace of a battle. The only clues were the black burns scorching the walls from the explosion, and the scraps of metal lying limply on the floor. No trace of either fighter could be seen, and it didn't take a genius to know that both Eggman and Tails had died on impact.

The hedgehog paled, and let out a sob. Memories seemed to flood his mind, over-powering his emotions.

How he'd applauded the kit every time he completed a new invention.

How he'd rocked his brother slowly to sleep after a crying fit when he had been upset.

How he'd promised Tails he'd look after him when they'd first met.

More sobs heaved him, and Sonic's need to breathe ceased. He faintly felt a hand wrap around his arm, and then, the scene once again flashed away.

* * *

He was finished.

Even before returning to full awareness, before his feet touched the ground and eyes blinked away their ivory veil, he'd already torn from Tikal's grasp, without a care as to whether or not she was left a fistful of fur, or a limb, or his entire body; it was next to empty anyways at this point. Just so long as he didn't have to go back there again, because he was done with all of this.

The grey sky chipped away overhead, falling in sheets like oversized flakes of polluted snow. He could hear Tikal shouting his name into the bleak remains of the world, as trees splintered and toppled to crumbling earth. Or maybe it was just him.

He was running again, legs racing through their elliptical paths below a tense torso, but there was nowhere to go. There was no place anywhere in this time period that could possibly supply any element of comfort after what he'd just experienced. Because nowhere on the island, nowhere on the planet, would he ever find his baby brother to hold.

…_Please be proud of me…_

The thought made him stumble and speed up all at once. Two simple words were holding in all of his distress. If he could only let them out… if Tails could hear them…

"I am," he pronounced dryly, watching the letters spill to the ground, wasted and empty, never to reach intended ears. It challenged his brain to realize that, no matter how far he ran, there was nowhere to go. In fact, buried beneath everything else that festered, he was beginning to subtly resent his own speed, and it was boundlessly unsettling.

In his mind, each betraying step that had brought him here was retraced. As they were recalled, one at a time in slow motion, he urged them to take a pause and stumble, think everything over and calm themselves. The condemning action, such a physical thing, had been so preventable.

He could get back. Somehow; there was something he could do. There simply had to be.

On cue, he felt his feet reach the island's edge in time for him to blink awake and catch himself.

The first thing that came to mind was a reversal of direction. If forward had brought him here, backward would bring him home. It clicked in instantly, before thought could make any say, letting his ragged, reward-starved sense of hope take a final wallop at finding an answer.

He could feel his own velocity in the form of branches whipping against his back, wind pressing his spines into their roots.

He needed to go faster.

_Like before_, he urged, forcing each leg to push harder through awkward, reversed steps, until he was travelling at close to top speed.

Still, he had to go faster...

Just a little bit faster… it would be over. He'd be back home again.

"Sonic."

Her voice needled through his concentration so suddenly that he felt his feet give way beneath him so that he landed to a sliding halt into a thick-trunked tree, Tikal's sympathetic face sliding meekly before his eyes, eclipsing the sun with her ghostly glow to cast a translucent shadow over him. She extended her hands around his wrists and pulled him up onto his feet again.

"I'm so sorry that I had to show you that," she said with respectful sincerity.

Sonic just looked away.

"You have to come back again."

The hedgehog permitted the melted slough of his face to pull into an incredulous frown, though disbelief was the shallowest of all the disease inside of him.

"I can't."

The answer was pure and simple and as nakedly honest as anyone could be.

"Only once more," she whispered, eyes wide and emotional, "Sonic, I promise."

But he couldn't bear once more.

"Didn't you see all that?" he choked, trying to push away the fox's last words. "Weren't you watching? You…" A heavy blink shielded his eyes for a moment, before he could continue. "You made me watch my friends die… one by one."

"Please," she interrupted weakly, "stop."

"I'm going to fix this."

Without warning, he shot away from her into a garden of thick ferns. Tikal let out a tiny noise of upset, loping into somehow-graceful pursuit.

"Sonic," she pleaded, running after, trying to catch hold of his arm, "there's nothing you can do! It wasn't your fault!"

The hedgehog froze between her fingers, turning his lowered head to face her.

"None of it," she repeated shakily, suddenly frightened by the anger bubbling through his eyes.

"I know that," he growled, staring murderously past her into the jungle.

"So just come-"

"It's Shadow's."

Before she could open her mouth, he snatched his arm away from her delicate hand and disappeared, legs carrying him in a clear path for the first time in too long.

The emerald sang harshly in his ears. He was more aware of the summoning magic than he'd ever been, but he hated it because of its association with Shadow, and resented the way it clung as an undertone to the underside of all his senses.

He burst out from the fern grove and into open forest, discarding the humming to the back of his mind again, now able to navigate with sight. Throwing his way through whipping braches, he shot past the dense forest's elderly flora until the shrine's ruined remains became visible between criss-crossing boughs that chopped the scene into geometrical puzzle pieces. The emerald, somehow together in one piece again, was perched somewhat precariously atop a pile of desiccated old stones. A chartreuse glow illuminated its surroundings, but there was something distinctly different about its aura.

He slowed to a walk before leaving the jungle's cover, peering around darkly for Shadow. Drawing cautiously nearer, he felt ghosts whispering accusingly into his ears. As his steps carried him to the foot of the mound, paying some thought towards how the island had been returned to its floating state. He noticed that, while everything else showed no sign of having fallen from a kilometre in the air, the shrine looked exactly as it had after its impact.

A faded maroon stain still tattooed the stone floor, where Rouge had laid yesterday… so long ago.

Sonic felt another throb of fury when he saw the coffee stain which was her ancient remains. Shadow had left her there. On her death bed, he hadn't spared her a final forgiveness, so that the last thing she would ever experience was his disapproving glare. It was unbelievable, even for him, especially considering the bat had to be the closest thing to a friend that he knew. He'd always been cold and unforgiving, but it the very memory of the display gave Sonic a wave of disgust.

From behind him, he heard the snap of a twig, and turned his head sharply towards the source of the noise.

Every bottled ounce of hatred very nearly exploded then and there, and he was upon Shadow before either knew it, blue pinning black up against a tree trunk by his neck.

Shadow didn't flinch. But Sonic was confident enough that he could break that straight face into something more aesthetically pleasing, like the outline of a curse, or a grimace of pain.

"Shadow."

The ultimate looked exactly the same as always had. He didn't deserve to have lived all these years, not when every other innocent person had been lost at his heel. Time was supposed to be able to heal all wound, and yet here he stood, Sonic's largest source of pain.

"Say you're sorry," the blue hedgehog demanded, darkly, applying more pressure to his forearm.

"Sorry?"

It was frustrating that Shadow's voice, in its despised familiarity, still managed to sound through the throat's near suffocation, and its annoyed growl gave Sonic the strong urge to tear it out.

"Why should I apologize to you?" Shadow snarled, though he hadn't yet decided to struggle.

Sonic hated him for living, breathing. Every death the hedgehog could have prevented still hovered around him, coming in and out with each breath. And those had all been unintentional. So how could Shadow stand there, looking almost bored, when he had murdered her, coldly and purposefully? And even further, not acknowledge what he had done?

"Rouge."

But Rouge's death wasn't the reason he demanded recant. It was Amy, and the last solid memory he had that really powered the concentrated anger in the single word.

Shadow's brow twitched.

"That was a long time ago," he growled, dryness making him sound almost bored, "but she deserved what she got. I feel no regret for that. So, no, I'm not sorry."

Sonic's eyes narrowed with disbelief as he pushed harder, half waiting to hear some sort of snap that would relieve everything.

"_Sonic,_"

He heard Tikal's echoing call as she materialized beside him, looking out of breath. He didn't want to deal anymore with her cursed abilities.

"Get away," he growled, not looking away from his pinned victim.

"Sonic, let him go," she pleaded, tugging at his arm to release. He turned on her, holding a surprisingly docile Shadow with one hand.

"He's not going anywhere."

But as he pronounced the last, spiteful syllable, Shadow shoved free and, in a blink, disappeared into the underbrush beyond the shrine, Sonic quickly in his wake.

Tikal exhaled in panic, rematerializing on the overgrown path she knew they'd cross. When their approaching stampede neared within range, she froze time, halting them both in their tracks, and glided over.

Sighing her disapproval at Shadow, she extended a hand and released him from the binding so that he could make a quick exit through the forest. Then, after a moment of calm, she turned to the other hedgehog.

"Sonic," she said gently, eyeing him, "I'm going to let you go now. But you have to promise not to go running after him."

Because there was no movement possible, she had to hope that he'd accepted the condition.

"I'm going to kill him," Sonic snapped instantly once he was released.

"No," she mouthed, shaking her head slowly and staring up at him with huge eyes, "you're not."

He glowered at the spot were Shadow had disappeared, but realized that he had to do this.

"Just come back."

His lips padded a few times, before his head slowly dipped in allowance.

"Thank you," she whispered, placing her hands on his cheeks. With luck, this would be the very last time.

* * *

**MiLly's A/N: **Me and Emma deserve two, great stinging slaps. `

I mean like, me and her feel absolutely AWFUL! We are like, torturing a tiny little Fox, whom we both love. How can we? We are bullies, absolutely.

But hey, my heart didn't bleed for old Eggie though. =) But, who could not think he was awesome? Sometimes I wish he were ruler of the world, I'd just laugh myself crazy at him.

Nothing much to report on my end, except that Barack Obama is in my home-country! =] He's paying us brits a visit for a short while, and he's sure come in style. It makes our prime minister look like a tramp! (Love you Gordon Brown!)

Anywho, on behalf of Britain and Canada, Review please!

M,.*'Lullabye,


	8. Chapter 8

**MiLly's A/N:** Heyy guys! :)

Well, first, I'd love to give a HUGE apology on my behalf for not updating since forever. LA was all ready, I however was a different story all together. After I finally finished my bit, it came out crappy anyway! -_- I think I made Shadow real OOC, BIG time! So, I also apologize for that.

Also, just thought I'd share my rant with you guys. :) Well, we had our tests like a couple of weeks ago. Maths, English and Science. (My wrist was practically broke after we finished, seriously.) But anyway, we got the results back from Maths and Science the week after. I was happily suprised with what I got, because I thought I'd done rubbish. =] But yeah, we got them back, and we were all waiting for our english papers eagerly. Then we got into English, and the first thing our teacher said was; "I haven't marked your english papers yet because I have better things to do, and I really cannot be bothered right now."

Seriously! The cheek of him, I swear...

Enough of me, here's the chappie!

P.S-- OMG I got Sims 3! *Dances around room* It's awwweesome! :D Have any of you guys got it? I am like absolutely hooked.

* * *

Present is a flexible term.

Ten seconds ago, Sonic had been standing on a patch of future of grass. But could really it be called the future? It was certainly more concrete than anything Tikal had shown him in the past... present? He supposed that the present was, by definition, where he happened to be at the time. It had less to do with time lines than with his own conscious existence; where he found himself at any given time.

The concept made his head hurt.

Now, he knew from experience, they were back in the time period where people tended to die. He subconsciously checked through a list of friends' names, trying to prepare himself for who might be next.

_Cream: old age. Knuckles: head exploded. Rouge: squished. Tails: heroic kamikaze. _

And there they were... aligned in a file, in chronological order. Each memory clung onto a spot in his brain, flowing their respective degrees of grief through his system like an IV.

But it was the other half of the list he was afraid of; the ones who he hadn't seen yet. Of course, it was always possible that Tikal had thought Amy's wonderful, peaceful death to not really be interesting enough. Perhaps the hedgehog had lived miraculously long and happily and found some immortality herb. Maybe, when they returned to the future... present?... she'd have been there all along...

Yeah. Probably better to leave that sentence before things got too excessive.

Tikal seemed to be watching him in wordless observation, expression falling into an unnameable gray zone that was honing dangerously close to worry. She had set them down in the center of a single asphalt lane. He knew this street, distantly, as one of Tails' numerous runways. This particular one, if he recalled correctly, ran for several miles through an isolated valley. Memories of it were shrouded by fog, both literally and figuratively. A heavy mist hung in the air, clinging to Sonic's fur and sending cool shivers down the back of his neck. It was the kind of moist blanket that followed nights of icy, heavy rainfall, as if Mother Nature was apologizing for losing her temper. The landscape's pallet was crisp and pale, gentle hills blanketed by celadon grass so fresh-looking Sonic feared it might snap at any touch.

Taking a few steps forward, he was confused as to why this place had been the chosen destination; the road belonged to Tails, whose death Sonic had already witnessed. Not to mention to valley was so far from anything else, it was hard to believe that another person would end up there. He glanced around anyways, peering as far down the runway as the fog would permit, but the place appeared totally deserted.

And then, he heard her.

Distant, at first, but clear as a bell.

There was, and always had been now that he thought about it, a whole unique frequency to her voice. In a crowd of ten thousand people all passionately comparing their political beliefs, her "Sonic should be president of the world!" would be audible.

A word sounded, practically parting the mist as it resounded over each delicate blade of grass; the one thing that could have comforted him more than anything else throughout the entire painful span of the disaster.

"_Sonic!_"

And it took no more than that single word to summon him into full speed, sprinting from the asphalt and onto spry grass. That was Amy's voice... that was his name. Leaving Tikal stationary, he flew over the field to the highest nearby hill, craning his neck.

His eyes clicked instantly into a distant focus. The rising sun's thin white body was the obvious focal point, but he couldn't be bothered to so much as pay it a glance... because there she was.

Amy... body pallid pink in the dull mist, glowing beautiful and soft. And was she calling Shadow? No, she was not. It was all just a thing of the past, of course, but he genuinely couldn't bring himself to care.

She shouted his name once again, moving slowly in no apparent direction, path non-linear.

His mind was too flushed with sudden happiness at the pure longing in her voice for him to notice the other half of its tone; frightened and fatigued. To Sonic, it was simply Amy wanting him.

He started down the hill, grinning at the very sight of her... she always did have that effect on him. Of course, he fully realized that there was no way for them to communicate or even touch, but the prospect of simply walking next to her was tantalizing. But he hit a brick wall on the way down when he realized what her presence meant.

His entire body froze, feet stumbling and sliding down the gentle incline. When the ground levelled, he righted himself instantly. Without hesitation, he shot to her side and tried to grab her arm to hold her back.

Not Amy... he wasn't ready for this.

However, though he felt her silken fur as he closed his fist, he found himself physically unable to tether her. Without so much as noticing his hand or its pull, she continued forward.

Even in the midst of his panic, he couldn't help but take a fraction of a second to stare. There was a distinct limp in her gate, and bags under her eyes, but they still glowed brightly through ignored tears with such familiar determination.

"Sonic," she repeated in a shaky yell, stepping in messy circles as she progressed, trying to see everything at once as if she feared he might shoot past behind her unnoticed.

He was making her cry, and it broke his heart.

"Amy!" he shouted, waving his hands in front of her face, desperate for his voice to break the barrier. "I'm right here!"

The entire world was suddenly very, very hostile, and he felt an overwhelming wave of protectiveness urge him to cover her, shield her. He frantically swivelled his head, looking for anything, and everything, that might have the potential to be life-threatening. He'd already been through too much trauma to allow the naivety of optimism.

He winced at every tottering step she took. Were her legs going to crumple suddenly under her weight?

He gritted his teeth in panic, circling her.

"_No,"_ he shouted, trying to restrain her from proceeding. But she just stepped right past the warnings.

He knew first hand that there was always one step that took you too far. Right now, he needed to prevent Amy from taking that step more than anything else in the world. There was no way his eyes could possibly take it in if something happened to her. His brain wouldn't allow it, and would surely implode on impact.

Thunder growled in the distance, though the sky was clear above their heads. Sonic cringed, anticipating a flash of lightning. She would be struck to the ground, charred and smoking.

"Sonic..." Not Amy this time, but Tikal. He glanced quickly towards his name, finding her gliding next to him, but then returned his attention to the hedgehog for fear of missing something.

"Sonic, _listen._"

He ignored the pleas, but felt his body freeze suddenly under her power. The echidna's eyes were wide with concerned seriousness as she stepped around to face him. Sonic watched in horror as Amy slowly proceeded through the grass, looking so delicate and vulnerable on her own. He tried with all his might to break free from the binding, but his muscles were fixed in their place. Tikal touched his forearm gently with two fingers.

"There's nothing you can do," she told him, face straight but shadowed with guilt and sympathy.

'_I can fix all this...'_

"Nothing." There was such solemn pity in her voice that he almost found himself believing her. "Everything that you see has already happened, and _is _going to happen. So, please, don't hurt yourself. You can touch, and feel, and be hurt, but you can't change anything."

Sighing when she saw the unchanged determination in his eyes, Tikal released him from the hold. With the thunder's low sound growing, he caught up to Amy as she reached the edge of the road.

Looking all around and cupping her mouth with both hands, she reached for a deep breath. But on its way out, before the second syllable, his name snagged itself in her throat. Choking on tears, she collapsed suddenly in the runway's center.

Her fine-spun body, curled into a ball so compact it appeared almost infantile, shook with cold and sadness.

Sonic crouched beside her, wrapping his arm around the shivering frame to deliver comfort that time was quick to intercept. She didn't feel him there, though her warmth brought the feeling back into his fingertips.

And still, a constant rumble continued to crescendo in the background. But the sky was a shade of baby blue so innocent and soft that he couldn't believe it to be the source of the angry noise.

However, Sonic couldn't care. He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut, trying with all the power he possessed to let Amy know that he was there, and that he would protect her.

As it grew more and more, the thunder began to morph into a choppier, mechanical whir...

A plane.

His mind had been totally numbed by panic, but would have certainly agreed when its body sprung forward to shield her from the impending crash.

For only an instant, he saw Tails in the cockpit. The fox's eyes were huge and terrified, as he tried to swerve clear of Amy.

The plane's impact was cold and solid, and certainly didn't feel like a memory when it sent him flying over Amy's head and skidding onto the grass beyond.

When he blinked the world back into focus, she was there, body faithfully beautiful in its damage. Sonic, feeling the fog thickening and expanding in his lungs, shot to her side. He tried to clean the blood from the crest of her bruised eyeridge, but it refused to move at his touch though he could feel it, warm and heartbreaking. When he shakily paid a glance at his fingers, the gloves tips were starchy white and perfect in defiance. His face stretched in some horrible, unknown emotion. He killed her, and now couldn't so much as provide.

Sonic, knees shredding on the plane's jagged innards, stared at her. Her jade irises caught the plane's flames. And where there had previously been life... vivacious, wonderful, beautiful life... he salvaged. They were together finally, but separated... by so many seconds. So much time.

* * *

Heavens had opened on the island. Water droplets heaved down onto the rainforest, dulling every bright colour that existed on the land.

Three lone figures dotted the scene, not too far from one another, mingled in with the scenery, with three entirely different postures.

One stood, leaning against a tree trunk, arms crossed. The rain skimmed across him, almost as if it weren't there. The expression was somewhat of a glower, a look of disgust tinged with bitter pity down at one of the others below him. The third individual appeared non-existent to him.

Another figure knelt in the ground, hands clutching furiously together, her eyes darting wildly between the other two figures. The rain pooled into her fur, making her appear fragile and venerable. The expression was one of worry, a look of panic etched with guilt, almost as if she were waiting for the awful to dawn.

The final figure perched on his hands and knees, breathing so loud that it could be heard above the clatter of rain on the leaves. The rain clashed harshly against his back, as if the droplets were delivering stings as they made contact with him. His expression was one that contrasted with the dull atmosphere, a look so filled with rage and hate that it was darker than the devil himself.

The girl's eyes settled on this final figure as he began to move his head, moving it up to meet the figure leaning. Chartreuse met Sangria, lightning almost darting between both sets of eyes.

Clumsily, the perching figure threw himself upwards, mud slinging in every direction. All that could be seen for a split second was a streak of cyan, and then the two hedgehogs were on the floor, Sonic kneeling on top of Shadow, hands clawing at him.

"You..." His voice possessed a hatred he never even knew he had. "It's your fault, your fault this happened." Blood starting to trickle like the rain, but Shadow didn't even look pained, nor did he struggle. He just looked up, expression all the same as the blue demon hissed and scratched like a cat. "You took her away, and now you killed them all."

The position flipped on its head, as Shadow threw Sonic down, and knelt beside him, one hand on his throat. Sonic wrapped his own hands around the wrist, digging his fingers in furiously.

He heard the low growl of thunder in the distance, though the sky was clear above their heads.

"You're not even making sense." Shadow tilted his head to the side, examining him curiously. "You've finally lost it."

"Of course I've lost it." The snarl came out loud, as Sonic bent Shadow's wrist at an awkward angle, making the onyx hedgehog momentarily pull back so that Sonic could push him backwards again, pounding at his chest. "Because of you I've lost it. Because of you I lost the only girl I ever loved."

Shadow merely smirked back up at him, not even considering this a challenge. "You really have lost it."

Sonic took the tuft of white fur into his hands, yanking at it. "Amy." He lowered his head, fangs glittering dangerously. "You took Amy. My Amy_._" His hands found Shadow's neck, scraping along it.

Shadow gripped Sonic's wrists and forced them upwards, away from his neck, as a chuckle escaped his lips. "Amy? Amy Rose? Please, she's a stubborn, hot-headed _girl._" He spat the last word out like venom. "Why would I want her?"

"Oh I don't know." Sonic's voice was bordering on hysterical, an unusual high tone piercing from his throat. "Maybe because you wanted a body to fill that empty space you lost when your bitch died."

Without warning, Sonic was on his back, his body jerking as Shadow punched him furiously. Every last bit of common sense of control that was on Shadow's face had gone, leaving two snarling monsters, both out for blood.

Soft hands lightly intercepted both hedgehogs, as Tikal shrieked out protests above their own shouts. Shadow seemed to come to his senses, as Sonic's body stopped jerking with the blows. But still, the venom that oozed in Shadow's eyes could send fear into the bravest of beings.

He lowered his head, and whispered the words with a threatening undertone. "I don't care how upset you are about whatever is going on in your life. But I swear, if you ever say anything remotely like that again, I will do more than just turn you into a bloody pulp." He then stood up, threw a look of disgust, and walked a short distance away from the body struggling on the floor.

Sonic lay there, wounds running like ink, bruises already forming across his chest and torso. He couldn't say he felt guilty towards Shadow for what he said, if anything he felt guilty towards Maria.

The hysteria also seemed to have passed, and the numbness was back. Realisation dawned with it, as the hedgehog began to piece together what he'd already heard. Shadow didn't act as if he'd ever liked Amy in any sort of way, which definitely threw a spanner in the works. Sonic was expecting something, one little thing to show that Shadow had been involved with Amy.

But there was nothing, absolutely nothing. So now, Sonic was more confused than he'd ever been.

He hadn't realised he was sitting until he opened his eyes... his body worked that way sometimes.

"If you weren't..." He surprised himself with the raspy tones which coated his voice, making him sound like he had a bad throat infection. "If you weren't involved with Amy, then why were you at her house that night?"

Shadow gave a grunt in response, his back facing Sonic, arm's crossed tightly like restraints. "What night?" The short and clipped tone of his voice showed annoyance, and loss of patience.

"The night..." Sonic was still quivering, but not with anger like he had been before. Not even from the wetness or coldness of the shower of rain piercing his body, but from the emotion that simply flooded him as he remembered back to how he felt as he dreamed when he held the rose. "The night I disappeared."

Shadow seemed to still for a moment, pieces all falling into place.

"You left that rose." It was a statement, not a question. "And then you left because of me."

Expression once again changed to fury on the electric blue face, but a gentle hand rested on his back, silently pleading him to stay. Instead, Sonic let the fury out through words. "That's all you have to say? I find you two there all cuddled up, when I wanted her, when I _loved_ her, and that's all you say!" The hand on his back became firmer, but Sonic had no intention of moving now. The tears were starting up again.

Shadow spun round so fast that Sonic jumped, and made a shrill noise in his throat, his mouth twisting downwards. "Cuddled up? Please, you've got the wrong end of the stick." His voice came out raspy, a tone that seemed to send a shiver down Sonic's spine, because it was rare Shadow talked with such emotion.

The sooty hedgehog lowered his head and spoke more softly this time. "I was on my way to headquarters, when someone called my name. I looked around, and there was Amy. She was on the ground, her ankle twisted at an awkward angle. She practically begged me to take her back to her home, so I did. Whilst I was carrying her, she lost consciousness. When I got back to the house, she was fast asleep in my arms. I tried to get into the bedroom, but it was locked, so I took her to the couch where I sat down with her. She had a death grip on my neck, and wouldn't let go. I was exhausted myself, so I just pushed her away from me as far as possible before falling asleep myself." His voice hadn't wavered one bit, showing this wasn't affecting him at all.

Sonic however, found he couldn't see in front of him with the amount of tears cascading from his eyes. Speaking was out of the question, as the only sounds that came from him were dry sobs. He stared out into nothing, fingers digging into his knees.

All this time, he'd thought he'd left for a reason. He thought he'd left because she broke him, because she wanted Shadow.

But in reality, Shadow hadn't done a thing.

Sonic had traded everything, and had got nothing in return.

* * *

**LA's A/N: **aahha, hey guys.

Emm... first half was mine this time. Poor aammmyyy D:. I would've liked to add more of a reaction to Sonic seeing Tails in the plane there... since Sonic'd only just seen him die.

Oh, ps, if it didn't click, that was the "murder" that Eggman pointed out before :).

Haahh, obviously no offence to beautiful Hannah, but Sonic kinda fought like a girl down there, didn't he XD? Like, the clawing and chest-hair pulling? But, man, I'm so glad that we've got that... pff... "ShadAmy" thing off of our chests. I told you guys I wouldn't do that :).

Hannah thinks it's her fault that we took so long, but it's actually all me XD. ...see, she wrote that A/N about… like… ten years ago XD. But it's just that I've been so unbelievably busy this whole month.

Kay, so from the 21st to the 24th (... of May. I had to go in and add that. This is how FRIGGIN much I suck at getting things done.), I was in Toronto. OMG, so much funn. We were in this reaaally sketchy hotel... it had these three elevators that didn't work, and we were like, "can we take the stairs?" "there are no stairs." ... like, that can't be legal. We found out later that you have to go through this whole maze in the basement to take the stairs. Jesus. OH,SNAP,AND! Kay, so there was this whole huge elevator problem right when we got there, so we were sitting in the lobby for like an hour... and we were all just exhausted and hot and ready to sit on our beds. So my friends and I finally get upstairs, and the maid is still in our room. So we're like... echhhOKAY. And we're just sitting at the end of the hallway for another half hour, right? So then, she finally finishes, and right when we're walking into the room, one of our other friends walks up and asks why we're just getting in now, right? So I'm like, "ugh, this _lady _was still cleaning our room," in this really bitchy voice XD. I didn't mean to sound rude, I was just tired. Except then we turn, and she's standing RIGHT THERE, and I'm like, ohshit. So we were all terrified to leave any of our stuff in the room. I felt SO bad for her, though... I mean, it wasn't like it was her fault or anythinggg! I'm such a bad person.

But it was like two blocks from the Eaton Center, and boy-oh-boy, we shopped till we dropped :D. Especially me. My friends SUCK at shopping. I'm all falling through the floor because my seventeen bags weigh too much, and they're all, "... I bought a smoothie..."

But, man I could never, ever live there. Like, I know you guys haven't met me in person, but I smile at everybody I see on the streets... which isn't that big of a deal here, because we've got a population of, like, two. So, y'know, I'm walking down the street, and it's "good morning :)!" to the people I pass, big smiles, sometimes have a little bit of "lovely weather!" "oh yes!" "have a good day!". And I even tried some of that in Toronto, because it's like second nature to me, right? But there was no way to smile at everyone... and the people who I did make eye contact with either gave me "wtf, crazy person, keep your joy to yourself" or "I just might rape you." looks. But, no, worse than that were all the homeless begging people. Not gonna lie, I was almost in tears passing by some of them. I'm lucky I wasn't carrying any change, because I would literally give them all my money without even meaning to. Those crowds gave me these awful panic attacks and everything. No, yeah, I love my city even though it's so lame.

WELL! That's about enough of my life, hmm?

Love you guyss! .. you don't even know HOW much I've missed reviews, considering it's been ages and ages since I updated XD. So, yeah! Reviews please, and I promise the next chapter will be up before you can say "I think I'll write you a 1000 word review!"

--LA

* * *

**Anonymous Review :) :**

Nitro:

Woah! I've never had an anonymous review before, exciting! :D

Kay, so the whole Amy thing. It's not exactly what it seems? I mean, in reality Amy would never let her blue hero out of her grasp, or trade him for ANYONE. :) The time-travel thing, you'll see an explanation for that soon. :) Trust me, not long now! ^^

And I agree with you there, Shadow is kind of an ass in this. :p Courtesy of my darling LA, bless her. ;)

Thank you so much for giving the humongous detailed review! Seriously, we really appreciate it. =]

M,.*'Lullabye

Hehh, you certainly guessed right about poor Amy. Oh, dear.

Sweetie, don't get me STARTED on ShadAmy. Like MiLly said, if you ever find him getting spontaneously impaled during our story, it's _probably _me behind it. I dunno... I'd be perfectly happy to just kill him off, but he's definitely a good source of ANGST for poor Sonic. I'm pretty particular about my SonAmy, to tell the truth.

Also, would you mind if I made a small suggestion? Why the anonymous business :)? I really don't mean to be intrusive or anything, but isn't it so much more convenient to have an account? I mean, I know replying to reviews is... like... my favourite thing, second to receiving them, and when I see that I can't do it, it's like... oh. Especially when it's actually a good, quality review like yours. Anyways, it's totally none of my business XD.

The explanation should be in the next chapter... unless we decide to just screw with you guys and not do it ;D.

SO! Thanks very much :), I hope to see you around.

--LA


	9. Chapter 9

**LA's A/N: **HEY, folks!

I know what you're thinking, "who the f are these strange chicks, and why does this story ring a bell?" Yeah. Remember your good old friends Emma and Hannah? We didn't die or anything, so don't worry.

The long wait is, as usually, entirely my fault... I'm not going to make any excuses besides that I just suck. First half is mine this time :).

But, yes... last chapter! That's always so exciting. But I'm not going to lie to you - because I never lie to you guys - I've gotta say I'm glad to be done with the angst :). Having two long-term stories going at once was a seriously poor choice, and now I can devote all my loving, maternal attention to good old Stone Cold. YEAA:).

SO! Thanks for sticking with us for all NINE chapters. We appreciate every pageview and favourite and, most of all, review. You guys are great, and we adore you.

WITH MUCH LOVE :),

--LA**

* * *

  
**

_Amy Rose is a person we'll never forget._

_She lived much of her life in pursuit and we hope that she can now find what she was looking for._

_Born September 23rd, 1997_

_Died April 14th, 2009_

His face was more blank than anything as he reread the already memorized lines. It occurred to him that it would probably be appropriate to read the inscriptions on all the other graves... for poetic reasons or something. However, he really wasn't sure he had enough energy left to so much as crawl one space over.

Legs crossed and in a state of total static, Sonic had spent the past hour feeling his blood clot into scabs. Now that he had nobody to blame but himself... for overreacting, for jumping to conclusions, for not trusting her... and since he had long since exhausted his entire supply of self-hatred, he found nothing but passive emptiness left behind. But, for some reason, it was better than he'd felt in a long time. It was refreshed, peaceful sort of state.

Knowing Shadow was innocent after everything that had happened was a hard truth to digest, but Sonic had mostly come to terms with it, and by doing so had relieved incomparable amounts of his troubles. He felt himself begin to nudge back into its deserted shell.

He whispered a small, simple apology. Very general. For all the recent mistakes he had made, and to everyone they had effected.

He felt better hearing the words and imagining them dissolve into the soil at the feet of each gravestone.

Tikal, eyes deep and sympathetic, appeared beside him and placed a satiny hand on his shoulder. There was a new hopefulness to his demeanour that she noticed right away. His ears stood keen and he held his shoulders as if they'd been relieved a great deal of weight. But when she saw the battle wounds plastering his skin, her thin lips pursed in worry.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

Sonic shrugged, glancing towards her.

"Not too bad," he replied quietly, scratching his nose. Tikal tilted her head, smiling inquisitively. She could see in his eyes a renewed confidence. It was one of the many traits she had dreaded he would shed and leave behind.

"Look on the bright side;" she offered gently, "at least it's over now."

Sonic shot a suspicious sideways glance. "You're sure?"

She shut her eyes with a small laugh, smiling placidly. "Yes. I'm sure."

"Good. Because I think I've pretty much had my fill of people dying."

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Sonic absent-mindedly tugged at a pleat in his glove.

Everything that had happened, now that he was calm enough to chew through it in its new state, could be summed up as a string of very poor decisions. Or rather, one very poor decision and a barrelling tendril of unfortunate results.

"Hey, Tikal," he began thoughtfully, "d'you know how I got here in the first place?"

She chuckled. "I've been waiting for you to ask that."

"Well," the hedgehog remarked, "I've been a little busy."

"I didn't understand it either at first – and I went back to study the scene a number of times. You're well-adapted to breaking the sound barrier when you run. My theory is that you ran so fast that night, you passed the speed of light."

Sonic raised his eyeridges. "You been talking to Tails?"

"Not exactly," the echidna smiled. "As I was saying, when your velocity exceeded the speed of light, I think you travelled through time."

The hedgehog shrugged thoughtfully. "I'll guess ask Tails when I get back."

Tikal tilted her head slightly, and Sonic could feel her staring at him though he kept his eyes forward. Again, a calm fell between them until another question reached the hedgehog's mouth.

"So," he mused slowly, "what do I do now?"

To this, Tikal had no words. She instead met his eyes with sympathy and hope in hers, and helped him to his feet. For a moment, she held his hands.

"I'm so proud of you."

When he felt her soft gloves slip from her fingers, his guide blinked once and lifted slowly towards sky. Light arcuated around her form as thin bands of feathery white slid from the heavens. Dancing and twisting, they bleached her body in strips, swallowing her until she was gone.

Craning his neck and watching as the last of the angelic strings took their places and dissolved into cerulean, Sonic smiled.

"Thanks," he said quietly.

The hedgehog turned to the grave at his right, and thought of Amy.

"I guess I'm on my own now, huh?" he asked, staring at her name chiselled into the granite. He knew he had to get back.

Mind set, he lifted his head and stared straight-faced towards the jungle.

"See you soon, Ames."

* * *

The way to the Master Emerald's destroyed shrine had been cleared into a straight path after being repetitively torn through in both directions, but Sonic would have known the way blindfolded and walking on his hand; the emerald's radiating energy directed him like a glowing beacon. His salvation sat on that pile of destructed stone.

Sonic wondered how much time would have passed when he got back. He had been away for several long days - any more time spent on Angel Island and he worried he'd start turning red - and so much had happened that he couldn't imagine it being compressed into just a few minutes, or even a few hours. When he got back, would he remember the grim results of his death, or would he simply awaken like nothing had happened? What if he fell right back into his original mindset, and blasted himself back into the future again, doomed to spend eternity in the loop.

Certainly, there were many unknown factors, but he didn't care. He wasn't entirely sure how just yet, but he was going home, one way or another.

As he padded through the jungle, the ruins came into view. Sonic couldn't see the emerald yet, but all his other senses told him it was up there. As his eyes drifted from the mountain of broken stone, he noticed Shadow standing at the far end of the temple, facing the open jungle with his arms crossed. It wasn't until just then Sonic blinked and remembered how their last meeting had gone. His gate went on interrupted, but it occurred to him suddenly that he probably could have been a tad more tactful, considering the recent things that had been said, and punches that had been thrown.

Oh, well. Too late for that now.

Sonic knew the ultimate must have heard him approaching, and listened himself as his feet sounded his arrival. Breaking free of the trees, he watched for any response.

While not so much as a quill on his head waved in the breeze, Shadow's smooth, low voice sounded.

"What do you think you're doing here?" the dark hedgehog asked coldly, not turning.

"Look, Shadow," Sonic began, keeping his distance, "I'm sorry if I offended ya' earlier."

Shadow shot a single, sharp glare over his shoulder.

"Nothing you could say could offend me."

"Great," Sonic said cheerfully. "Then you would mind giving me a hand?"

This time, Shadow made a full turn. Face hard to read, he stepped towards Sonic.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

"Just paying a visit, neighbour," Sonic replied with a shrug, glancing without turning his head towards the shrine. "There's only the two of us left after all."

With an unfriendly glare, Shadow turned on his heel and shot away, the rockets on his shoes leaving the jungle scorched behind him. Sonic frowned in annoyance and zoomed after him.

"C'mon, Shadow," he called, pushing past pre-snapped branches and smouldering ferns. The acrid smell of fire made him wonder if Shadow had ever caused a forest fire with those sparks of his. At least the path was easy to follow.

Sonic could see the bright streaks up ahead, and pushed himself forward to catch up.

When they were racing parallel, Sonic craned his neck until he was nearly running backwards.

"Help me out here."

Shadow grunted and bolted suddenly to the right, Sonic following suit like glue. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he stopped abruptly, hands on his hips, and stuck out one leg so that it hooked Shadow's shoes and tripped him to the forest floor.

Teeth grated and eyes cold, Shadow pushed himself immediately to his feet. Eyeridges dangerously low, he stepped forward threateningly, and then gave a resolved sigh.

"I'll help you-"

"Great!"

"_-_on the condition that you never let any of this," he gestured towards the state of the current future, "happen."

Sonic grinned and extended his hand. "Deal. Let's go."

They walked back in silence, Shadow staying a few feet ahead. Sonic's mind churned as he tried to create a game plan. He could feel the chaos emeralds, all seven. He knew that meant some sort of miracle would have occurred. Maybe the reassembly of the island after it had fallen.

The two hedgehogs broke the tree line, the emerald shrine heaping before them.

"So, Shadow," Sonic began conversationally, "whatever happened to the chaos emeralds?"

Shadow waved a hand towards the shrine's upper platform. "I haven't much use for them now that I have to stay here."

"Good! So let's chaos control me back to before everything happened."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "If I could use chaos control, do you think I'd still be here?"

Slightly crestfallen, Sonic furrowed his brow. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

His semi-plan now wrinkled, the hedgehog took a seat on a nearby destroyed rock, elbows on his knees.

"Look, Sonic," Shadow began in a cool condescension. "There is nothing you can do. Time is a complex thing."

Sonic froze, ignoring Shadow's lecture. Maybe the chaos emeralds couldn't get him home, but maybe their big cousin could.

"Hey, Shadow!" he said suddenly. "What about the Master Emerald?"

The ultimate turned impatiently.

"What about it?"

"You remember when you tried to help Knuckles go back in time with it?"

The black hedgehog narrowed his eyes for a moment, presumably wondering how Sonic knew about all that, then gave a short jerk of a nod.

"Couldn't we do the same thing?"

Shadow glanced in disdain. "In theory."

Sonic shot to the top of the shrine, staring at the chartreuse emerald. "So let's do it!"

"I'm not risking my life just so that you can-"

"That makes sense," Sonic agreed assuredly. "I just figured you'd want to so that you could go back to doing... you know, profound things. Besides," he continued as Shadow opened his mouth to counter, "it only went wrong because Rouge smashed the emerald."

"You have to realize that, even after all these years," Shadow interjected, the negativity clinging stubbornly to his voice, "there's no way for me to have the same connection with the emerald that Knuckles did."

Sonic just waved the anchorage away as Shadow walked slowly up the haphazard steps.

"_You_ have to realize that there's no way I'm staying here."

Shadow sighed coolly and shook his head no.

"Alright, alright," Sonic yawned, "that's fair. I guess I'll just have to hang out with you for the rest of my life."

Shadow's eyes flashed, and he turned sharply away. He was too smart to fall straight into that trick, but he realized that Sonic's words held some truth. His future was bleak, egg-sitting, until the end of time considering neither him nor the emerald would die. He exhaled, thoughtfully fingering the rings around his wrists.

Shadow closed his eyes.

"Alright."

"Yeah!" Sonic cried triumphantly, disappearing into the jungle for a joyful victory lap. Soon, he'd be home; back where Dr. Eggman terrorized the land and where Amy loved him and where nobody was six feet under. When he rounded the turn back to the shrine, Shadow was standing, arms crossed beside the Master Emerald, which he had lowered to the grass. The seven chaos emeralds peppered the earth around them like confetti.

"Ready?" Sonic asked eagerly, scooping up the red emerald in one hand and passing it to Shadow, who exhaled and shook his head disapprovingly.

The blue hedgehog waited as he mindfully stepped to the Master Emerald.

"Knuckles told me," Shadow said quietly, staring tepidly into the bright green gem, "that only a guardian can make the connection."

Sonic remembered. But he also knew that Shadow had spent the past seventy or so years emerald-sitting in Knuckles' absence.

"What exactly is it you've been doing all this time?" he asked, crossing his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.

Shadow turned away with an air of indignation. "Since Knuckles' death, I've ensured the security of the Master and chaos emeralds."

"'Ensuring the security', eh?" Sonic repeated, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Well," he deduced matter-of-factly, "sounds to me like you're a guardian."

But Shadow was unconvinced. Sonic stretched his mouth to the right side of his muzzle, annoyed.

"Let's just give it a try at least."

Shadow shut his eyes in a grimace. There was a moment of tension as his mind whirred to construe the best decision.

He gestured for Sonic to place a hand on the emerald. The hedgehog grinned broadly and slapped his palm against its smooth flank.

"For all our sakes," Shadow muttered, "I hope this works."

Keeping his lids shut, he squeezed his fists tight and tensed his entire body until the strain was clearly visible. As the chaos emeralds rose into a ring around them, the smell of electricity began to choke out the jungle's perfume. A whirring hum sounded, shoving mosquitoes into Sonic's ears. He knew his voice wouldn't sound, but he shouted one last thing to Shadow, for want of the words to thank him.

"Oh, and by the way," he called, grinning broadly just before feeling the hot energy shoot to his core. "I got here by passing the speed of light. Remind me, how fast can _you _run?"

* * *

It all felt real.

Before, whenever Tikal had pulled him back to watch the unfolding events, everything felt like he was trudging through fog. Cold, ghostly. Simple details didn't seem to really seem like they mattered in his mind. In the flashbacks, everything felt constricted, yet so large Sonic felt like a little boy lost.

But here, it was different. Sure, the wind brushing his skin was a little too chilly, and the wet grass left him covered himself in mud, and rocks dug into his legs and arms, creating small scrapes in their wake, and the sharp drizzle that sprinkled on his back wasn't exactly perfection.

But it didn't matter, because it felt clear and realistic.

Sonic raised his head slightly, and looked straight into the dark trees and hills, shuddering from the cold breeze. Leaves dripping with perspiration, like jagged crystals. The darkness loomed over, like a tent enclosing the world, not even a sparkling star in sight. The waning moon's face only just broke through the canopy, casting the thinnest silver veil.

Not the prettiest of sights, but beautiful to Sonic. Because it was real, it was real now. Not a flashback, not a dream, not some damaged future. Real.

He started chuckling, before it gradually developed into full-blown laughter that shook his shoulders. The chortles rang out into the calm air, disturbing it's moments of peace. It seemed so long since he'd laughed, since he'd felt it. To him, it felt more peaceful than the silent nature around him.

Rolling from his stomach to his back, he pushed back the banging drums in his head, the sting of the cuts embedded in his skin, and the laughter that hurt his ribs. He was certain there was something far more important that he hadn't realized yet... something about the grass, the trees. They all looked-

"Crap!" Finally recognizing his surroundings, he shot up ninety degrees so fast he was certain something in his neck clicked.

He'd been running here, and not just running. He'd been running away, away from the present, away from the confusion, away from Amy.

Now, he saw the footprints laid out in front of him. The markings led straight to where he was lying, and they resembled the soles of his shoes. But most importantly, they were almost definitely new.

Before he could register what he was even doing, he was running full pelt, following the trail of his footprints. Every step seemed to slowly fizzle out the memory of the deaths, the gentle words of Tikal, the bitter cold truth from Shadow. They all were fading to black as a new dawn cast them away.

Realizing he'd stopped where the trail began, he focused his eyes, and immediately stilled. Her house, just as he'd seen it not too long ago. Exactly the same; even the door was slightly open from where he'd neglected to shut it last time.

Nothing had changed. Well, of course it hadn't. It had, after all, only been minutes since he'd left.

Sonic shook his head. Time travel was just plain confusing.

He thought he'd been more emotional than this, that he'd break down at the pure sight of the house, or he'd lose it and run away. But surprisingly, he felt strong. Braver than he'd felt in ages. Maybe he was just kidding himself, humouring himself, but he was going to try and be the person he was before, no matter what it took.

He took a step forward, retreated the step when he heard voices, and took another step back when somebody emerged from the door.

Sonic knew now he had definitely changed, because he didn't feel the burning hot rage raising in his throat. Neither did he have his hands clenched so tight they drew blood, restraining himself from throwing punches. Sure, there wasn't exactly happy smiles bouncing inside of him when he looked at the guy, but now it was nothing more than a small dislike that he had always had.

Shadow stared him down, posture frozen, as if he hadn't been expecting Sonic to be standing where he was. In many ways, Sonic's identical frustrated him to no end. Mostly because trying to read what Shadow was thinking was like trying to write Shakespeare in Greek, backwards. He gave nothing away, not even a hint.

He saw Shadow's eye line stray behind Sonic's shoulder, eyeing the footprints that now not only left marks from where he'd left, but also where he'd come back. He locked eyes with Sonic again, and stepped from the porch to just a foot away from where the other hedgehog was standing. Neither broke eye contact, and when Shadow finally spoke up, neither moved their posture.

"So you're not as stubborn as I thought." The azure hedgehog knew what he was referring to, "You can still prove me wrong though."

"I'm not leaving." His voice came out calm and strong. It was a nice change from the tone he'd been used to. "Not again."

"Shadow?" Now that voice was definitely not the male hedgehog right in front of him, he was sure. Neither was the small gasp that came straight after.

Sonic didn't dare break eye contact with Shadow, because he knew who was standing behind his counterpart. He could already half-see the carnation pink that reflected the moonlight to his right, and it almost passed blue as the most stunning colour Sonic had ever seen. He knew he was being cowardly, but he somehow felt that if he looked at her, she'd disappear beneath his gaze.

_Come on Sonic, you can do this. She's fine, you're fine._ He faintly registered that the voice in his mind wasn't his own, but that of Tikal. The hedgehog had listened to her before, and he saw no reason to break that tradition. He split his gaze with Shadow, and cast his eyes upon her.

Her dress was crinkled, her quills were messy, and her facial expression was stuck in between worn, worried, dazed and confused.

Sonic had never seen anything more radiant.

He stepped around Shadow to get a closer look at her. The golden lights from inside flooded behind her, battling with the silver moonlight shading on top of her. The drizzle of the rain casted upon her head, leaving the light pink fur darker in its wake. Her hands tightly clutched a blood-red rose to her heart. Sonic remembered calling it as beautiful as she was, but it was dulled by her very presence.

She was small and fragile. That was always the thing that made Sonic so protective of her. He loved that she was small, he loved the fact he could take her into his arms, her head below his chin. He loved that he could scoop her up with no effort, and carry her for hours. He loved the fact that he knew she loved it too.

Her eyes were darker and deeper in colour than his, yet they still shone with life and youth. The moonlight tinted her emerald green irises, making them appear like the ocean sea, glistening in the morning sun.

He stepped up towards the porch, as her head tilted to look at the flower in her grasp. And then her eyes widened as realization dawned. The male could faintly hear footsteps slowly fading away, so he turned his head slightly, seeing the dark outline of Shadow leaving, ebony fur matching the night.

When Sonic looked back, she was looking at him, her eyes still wide, and her mouth slightly gaping. He ascended the rest of the stairs, and came to a halt as he looked down at her. Suddenly, it all hit him at once.

Amy was there, right in front of him. No death, no blood, no torture. Just Amy here, now, for him.

She opened her mouth, but Sonic couldn't take hearing her voice yet. As sweet, childlike, and just so like _Amy _it sounded, he wanted the silence. He wanted silence to preserve her beauty, sight over sound.

He gently pressed his palm over her mouth, and she frowned at him, her face crinkling, but she stayed silent beneath the hand.

But Sonic wasn't paying attention to that. He was paying attention to her lips, full beneath his hand. The first thing he'd touched of her since he'd left, he now realised. He also remembered, this may have been the first time he paid attention to her lips in such detail, like artistry.

He hadn't realised he'd moved his palm, and was tracing around, across, on her lips with his thumb. He did realise that he was bringing his other hand up, and tracing her head. Stroking her quills, feeling the waxy, spiky texture that only their species possessed. Rubbing her triangular ears, softer than the spikes on her head. Trailing his fingers down her forehead, onto her cheeks, across her jaw, along her neck. Sculpting her figure from her chest and downwards, feeling the shape of her thin waist, toned hips, small back, all the while still tracing her lips.

He leaned in, just a mere breath away from her lips, and held still, waiting. He wasn't exactly sure what he was waiting for, why would he wait? He'd wanted this, this was what he had longed for.

Then, he remembered.

He smirked, cocky and confident, the type that he knew would swoon her. "You know, I'm not gonna explain anything."

She obviously didn't care at that moment, because her lips were crashing into his, their bodies joining as one.

As Sonic scooped her into his arms, strolling into the house, he felt the guilt wash over him. How he had let this go, just because of a little bit of jealousy. How because of his actions, so many had fallen beneath him. Holding her now, he called himself mad to let it go. If he had never made it home, he knew the guilt would have over-powered him.

He know thinks that's what he wanted at the time.

It wasn't the fact that they all died, because everybody dies, it's part of living. It was the fact that he had caused it. He felt, at the core of it all, that he had murdered them all, and the guilt was too much.

He felt a single tear streak down his face, but he hastily wiped it away before Amy noticed. Because what had seen never happened, and he wouldn't ever let it happen. He couldn't tell them, because he couldn't, wouldn't, stand the look of disappointment, disgust, pity on their faces. He was Sonic the Hedgehog, who lived as a hero. He had his adventures, had his heartbreak, and moved on.

Sure, he'd take time to think now and again, but in the end it was always forgotten, buried under the sand, like old pirates' treasure. He had Amy now, and now was what mattered.

Heroes have to move on.

* * *

**MiLly's A/N: **Yooo Kids!

So, that's finally it. First of all I'd like to apologize for any times I've messed you guys around or kept you waiting, cause you guys have been the best and most loyal reviewers I've ever known. Secondly, I'd like to thank you guys for just making it worth writing this story, cause you really have been completely dedicated and thoughtful and it's been pretty damn awesome of you to be honest.

The story itself was real good to wrap up, even with the angst struck in there. I'm always grateful to be writing alongside such an amazing author, and it don't get better than LA for me. She's helped me and guided me through this, so I cannot express how much I completely admire her right now.!

So yeees, it's been good times, and again thank you so much guuuys! Seriously, I really have enjoyed it.

For the last time, hopefully not!

M,.*'Lullabye


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